


Halls of NCHS

by He_Fell_For_Fiction



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Kara still has powers, M/M, Manhell is still a dick, Probably going to be slow burn, some abusive rhetoric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-24 00:31:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 93,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12001185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/He_Fell_For_Fiction/pseuds/He_Fell_For_Fiction
Summary: After being kicked out of boarding school and black balled for all other schools, Lena Luthor is forced into her mother's worst nightmare-Public school.Quickly she's taken under the wing of Maggie, James, Kara, and Winn. Life seems in order until she finds her family in shambles and her falling for her best friend.





	1. Welcome to the Real World

The loud beeping of the alarm on her phone got Lena Luthor to get up from her desk. She walked over and clicked it off. She had given up on sleep at midnight and searched around for her new teachers online. She found their assignments without much struggle and already had her first cram session. She was coming in the second quarter after a month of being off from school.

She stretched her back, grunting as the bones cracked. She heard screaming downstairs and knew that it really was a week day. She changed out of her hoodie and shorts into part of her old uniform. She was zipping up her pleated skirt when the door slammed open.

“Mother!” She hid behind the door of her closet.

“Oh so now you’re modest,” Lillian muttered. She held a mug of coffee and her ginger hair was loose. It was hardly past six thirty. “Taylor is driving you. I have to go check on your father.”

Lena frowned. She came out, now having a bra on. “But you said—“

“It’s not my fault. Blame your father.” She shut the door and Lena could hear the heel clicks becoming quiet.

Lena sighed and buttoned up her blouse. She did her makeup and packed her bag up with all the work she did. She put her glasses into her bag and ran out by seven thirty. Taylor was waiting downstairs. He used to be her nanny and was now downgraded to a driver as she became teenaged.

He smiled brightly when he saw her. “Your bag looks so full already! Are you already working ahead?” He teased and went back to making his travel mug of coffee up. She went around him, filling up her own and grabbing a banana.

“I couldn’t sleep. I refuse to waste time my brain insists I be conscious for.”  She bit the bottom and tore away the peel. She was careful to not ruin her lipstick.

“You look a bit too mature with that stuff. Look twenty and not fifteen.”

“I’ll be sixteen in two months.” She grabbed her Supreme and Louis Vuitton jean jacket and threw it on.

“Isn’t that a bit expensive to wear to a public school?”

“I think it looks good.” She shrugged and slipped on her boots. She checked the clock. Seven forty. “Time to go! Bell at eight!” She ran out the door.

The old driver sighed and looked at his mug. He rolled his shoulders, still getting over the chills of being yelled at by Mrs. Luthor.

Lena was in the back seat with earbuds in scrolling through her phone. He rolled his eyes and got in.

Lena chose some mediocre song that spoke to her purely because it was so gay. She was bouncing her foot to the beat and resisted biting at her painted nails.

She looked over her schedule again and bit her lip. She was a sophomore in age but was placed in junior/senior courses. Honors, AP, College Prep...so much for making friends.

Though it was like that at her old school. It was an all girl’s boarding school. She roomed with the insufferable but painfully attractive Veronica Sinclair. Lena rose up ranks fast and her last name had a ring to it that no one forgot.

Tragically it left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth. Those lot never really stuck as “friends.”

Lena sighed and looked out the window as the city passed them by. She knew Lex was away doing this thing without her. She saw him in the news a lot. Growing his part of the company, “despite his father’s disapproval.” He was smearing his own father in the news. Lionel was too sick to stop his own son’s antics. He had basically signed off his authority to Lex by Lillian’s orders.

Lex had his feuds as well. A recently established one was an oddity that Lena was more amused off. An alien that flew around in a skin tight suit, Superman, caught Lex’s eye and the elder Luthor child would try to smear him when it could.

Lena personally saw good in what the man was changing in the world. She knew Lionel felt the same and why his last days weren’t going to pass with good terms between him and his only son.

The car abruptly stopped and Lena barely stopped herself from face planting the seat in front of her. She took on earbud out and slid out of the back seat. Taylor rolled down the driver’s window. “Have a nice day Lena!” He smiled at her.

“You too, Taylor.” She forced a smile to make him feel better before running up the stairs as the first bell rang.

She heard the guitar riff in one ear as she tried to locate her AP Lang class. The place was huge, dividing into “buildings” sorted by color and letter. B was yellow, C was purple, A was green, D was the vocational shop class, and E was the arts wing done in blue. C building was what she was trying to locate.

She bumped into people and walked into the wrong class. She eventually went to the first person she made eye contact with and begged for help, “I’m new. Help me find C209?”

He smiled. “I was just heading there!” He adjusted his hold on a large binder filled with notes and walked off. She found she had walked the wrong way and there was a hidden corner. “I’m Winn by the way. You?”

“Lena,” she mumbled.

“You looked a bit young to be a junior.”

“I’m technically not? I’m fifteen. And fourth fifths,” she explained.

He chuckled. “Nice jacket by the way. My friend’s boyfriend would kill for Supreme gear.”

“It was a gift.” She adjusted it as it was a bit on the big side.

“Whoever got it really loves ya.” He didn’t know really, but she just smiled and nodded. “Let me see your schedule.” He took it from her as they strolled over the corridor. “AP Lang, AP Chem—that’s the hardest class we offer here.”

“I know. The appeal of it,” Lena said, smiling.

“Crazy girl,” he snorted. He looked at her schedule, unfolding it more and saw her name on the corner. “A Luthor? Any relation to Lionel and Lex?”

She took the schedule quickly. “Um…yeah.”

“Explains the nice clothes,” he said lightly. “I saw you had lunch sixth. Sit with me so you’re not alone."

The teacher gave out an essay and went to Lena. “Lena, I’m Dr. Garrison.” She saw that Lena had marked up the excerpt already. “You don’t have to do that,” she mumbled.

“Oh, I know.” She dug through her bag for her folder. “Here. I got that work from last week.” She held up the annotations and essay on rhetorical devices.

The teacher took her work and looked at it. “One, I would like if you wrote your work in pen and not typed. Two, I feel you’ll get along great in this class. Three, you’ve lost three minutes so get going. I’ll go easy on you but I want you to come in so I can show you some of the prewriting devices I want the students using.”

“Got it.” Lena returned to reading through the passage from _Common Sense_ as the door slammed open.

“Miss Danvers! You finally joined us!” Dr. G shouted. She leaned into her standing desk placed on wheels. It rolled a few inches. “Speak I just might give you the essay. Or else you’ll be sitting outside and working on last night’s homework you didn’t email me.”

Lena looked over at the student. It was a girl with dark blonde hair that was messily thrown up in a bun. She wore a letterman jacket and a pair of chinos. She was above average height and was well built. Lena could practically see the line of her leg muscles through the navy fabric. She was flustered, a half opened bag thrown over her shoulder and she was carrying a mug. Not a travel thermos.

“My boyfriend borrowed my computer and had it in his back pack when he was thrown into the pool…”The girl adjusted her glasses and Lena noticed an odd ring on her finger. It wasn’t a promise or engagement ring. It had a bright green stone that looked like peridot but was off color. “And I was late because my sister had the car and my phone was dead. I’m really sorry!”

“Not really an excuse. Stay after class and use my desktop.”

“Yes Dr. G.” The student grabbed the passage and shuffled to the last empty seat that was next to Lena.

Lena looked at her from the corner of her eye. The older girl was staring a bit. Her stare felt like a fifty-pound weight on Lena’s shoulders and kept her pen from moving. It was stuck in one spot on the lined paper before her, the ink saturating a dot into the thin paper.

She heard a quiet sip and then scribbling. She looked over and saw the girl had already gotten to work. Lena caught her name in the corner of the page. _Kara Danvers._

Lena looked back down and went back to write her hook. She connected a few loose ends and watched the clock tick to the last sixty seconds of their writing time. She saw panic amongst the faces. Then she saw Winn. He smiled at her from across the room. He walked over after their essays were collected and they had a few remaining minutes.

 “You actually wrote your essay?” he teased. She blushed and looked down. “You should teach Kara how to do it.”

Lena looked over at the late student. Kara glared at Winn. “Shut up. Who the hell knows what to say in those things anyway?” She pulled a silver package from her bag. It crinkled as she tore it to extract one of the two processed pastries.

“You two are friends?” Lena looked between the two.

“Since freshman year we’ve always had lunch and one class. Kara was new to town that year and I had just entered the system. The misfits paired off,” Winn explained.

“Makes sense that you chose me then.” Lena sighed.

“What’s your name?” Kara cut in. She looked at Lena. The young Luthor couldn’t help but see how blue the woman’s eyes were. It wasn’t a sky blue nor the ocean’s clean waves. It was the deep lapis lazuli only seen as one strolled through the halls of an art museum, previously meant for only kings and high priests.

“Oh...Lena,” she told her. She started to pack up her bag. She took out her schedule and it was snatched by Kara.

“Wow! You’re really smart and really hate yourself.” She chuckled. “AP Lang, AP Chem, AP Art History—oh you have sixth-period lunch too—AP BC Calculus, Robotics for two periods, and journalism. Oh! I’ll see you in that class.” She looked at Lena, smiling. “You’re Winn’s dream girl.”

“Not at fifteen.” Winn adjusted his hold on the books resting on his hip. The bell rang and they shuffled off.

“You’re fifteen!?” Kara looked down at the other girl.

“I came here from a gifted school. They had to move me up a grade and give me hard courses,” Lena explained. She took the schedule. “Can I have some help finding my next class?”

“I’m heading that direction. I have Physics just across the hall,” Kara piped up, placing a hand on Lena’s shoulder.

“I have to get to the E building for AP Computer Science. See you girls sixth,” Winn parted, stopping and almost bumping into a few people. He turned on a heel, adjusted his cardigan and strolled off.

“Then there were two.” Lena looked up at Kara. “So what school did you used to go to?”

“Metropolis School for Gifted Young Women.”

“Fuck that explains that jacket. I tried to get it for my boyfriend just to find out it was over a thousand dollars.”

Lena blushed and looked down. “It was a birthday gift from my brother…he knows I like to collect limited edition fashion. And Supreme’s collabs are always cool.”

“Well, I should warn you that wearing a thousand dollar jacket might get you in a world of hurt. Things get snatched and “lost” pretty easy.” Kara grabbed the lapel of her purple letterman. “This is my second jacket this year. The first was taken from the back of a chair. I left it there for two class periods. Came back and it was just fucking gone.”

“I’ll remember that.” Lena looked around to find landmarks. She stopped to read a poster and looking up made her realize the sea of children lost her guide.

Suddenly she was off the ground. A loud scream stopped the traffic and she felt many eyes on her. She looked down at her attacker. It was the damned blonde. “How the…”She trailed off.

“I’m a powerlifter. And you’re so loud!” She put down the smaller girl. “I lost you there. You kept walking and missed our turn.” She pulled them into the opposite side that flowed differently, getting them to the right hall. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s…fine.” Lena took off her jacket, feeling flushed. She wondered quietly what that Letterman hid as well. “So powerlifting your only sport?”

“Nah. I’m on swimming, track-and-field as well.” She crossed her arms. “I used to do basketball in my sophomore year but my coordination was sort of shit and I broke a few noses.” She smiled sheepishly. She ran her fingers through her hair that she had taken out of its bun. It looked better, falling in loose curls and when she whipped her head Lena caught a slight whiff of coconuts.

“And you take AP classes?”

“You take nothing but those classes. What are you working towards?” Kara pulled them into a stairwell. She scaled another flight to the third floor, Lena chasing after.

“CFO of Luthorcorp,” she sighed. Kara stopped mid-step and Lena ran into as they entered the hall. Students glared as they passed by them. Kara turned quickly.

“So you’re related to Lex?”

“Superman’s biggest critic? Yeah.” Lena adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Kara nodded. “So where is it from here? I can go by myself.”

“What? No! I’m your guide.” Kara smiled again, having gone stoic. It was a corny hundred watt smile that leaned more to one side. The wide grin shifted her glasses down Kara’s nose to reveal a small scar between her brows.

“How’d you get that scar?” Lena sped up to stay in stride with Kara. Their difference was almost a half foot as Lena opted to go without heels today. She was regretting it.

“Born with it. Eliza says I had to be a hero in my past life to get a mark between the eyes. You know the legend right?”

“Your birth marks tell of what killed you in your past life.” Lena huffed as they got near the end of their journey together. “Who’s Eliza?”

“Adoptive mom. See you.” She tucked into a room. Lena looked and saw the room she was to be in across the hall like Kara said. She shuffled over and ducked in. She noticed something on her schedule as well. There scribbled in green ink was a phone number. She didn’t recall seeing Winn or Kara put it down.

She entered it into her phone after she sank into a seat in the back with the name tag L, Lena on it.

She shot a message to the number. **_Which tour guide gave this to me? –Lena_**

A minute later a text came:

**_The hotter one that deadlifted you Miss Luthor_ **

Lena grinned and put into the first name of the contact as “Supergirl” without a thought.


	2. Welcome to the Gayest Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sixth period rolls along and Lena gets to meet the rest of the crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this story idea and am working on it while ignoring all my other stories. Also if you want you can follow me on Tumblr at hefellforfiction. I repost a lot of supercorp and write on there sometimes.

Lena entered the lunch room sixth. Kara had shown her third and to her fourth period in sacrifice to being on time. It was both their study halls so they spent the whole period texting back and forth and playing twenty questions.

**_Supergirl: Who makes the best burgers in your opinion?_ **

**_Lena: I’m vegan?_ **

**_Supergirl: We can’t be friends_ **

**_Supergirl: What is your weirdest scar?_ **

**_Lena: That was quick for someone who is no friend of mine_ **

**_Supergirl: Can’t resist_ **

**_Lena: I have one on my side. I got stuck in a training harness for trapeze. Cut loose and the teacher had shaky hands_ **

**_Supergirl: You do trapeze?_ **

**_Lena: I went from it after doing ballet from four to thirteen. My mother requires I have special skills. She isn’t happy I chose that._ **

**_Supergirl: She sounds like a bitch. Just sayin_ **

**_Lena: she is but she’s not my mom_ **

**_Supergirl: You aren’t a Luthor by blood?_ **

**_Lena: Lionel took me in eleven years ago._ **

**_Supergirl: Does Lex like you?_ **

**_Lena: He and I have been rivals all our life. Life is just like a tacky anime sibling rivalry where one is a chaotic good and the other lawful evil_ **

**_Supergirl: That is a lot of nerd talk you should take to Winn you will be his dream girl_ **

**_Lena: I will pass._ **

**_Supergirl: So what am I in your phone?_ **

**_Lena: I won’t say._ **

**_Supergirl: You’re LLL, Miss Lena Leanne Luthor_ **

**_Lena: You looked me up you stalker!_ **

**_Supergirl: Have you not found my ig or twitter? Like it’s the first thing normal people do once you make friends._ **

The whole conversation went on in the train wreck of a manner that to Lena felt like comfortable banter that just shouldn’t happen. She was used to formal writings, one word replies, being left on read.

 She got to lunch a few minutes after the bell. It was chaos unfamiliar to her. At MSFGW there was an open lunch so many girls would either go into the city, go to their dorms, or eat outside. This was shoving several hundred kids into what was a fishbowl and concrete jungle wrapped up into one.

She checked her phone, having asked Kara for some bearings.

**_Supergirl: Table closest to the window. First one on the left after you climb the stairs shorty_ **

**_Lena: First, fuck you_ **

Lena ran up the three steps and to the table. She saw Winn and Kara along with a few others. There was a well-built black student who was grinning big and had a camera in front of him. Next to him was a girl with long hair and tanned skin. She had a dimple in her cheek that was prominent as she dug through a backpack held together by duct tape and various pins and patches on it.

Lena walked over. Kara noticed her and grinned. “Hey!” She cheered. She reached across the table and pulled a bag away from the spot next to the girl. Lena sank down there. “Everyone, this is Lena. She’s new and a genius.”

“Hi, I’m James. I’m sorry that you met Kara first.” He put down his camera before Kara punched his shoulder lightly. Lena saw he was scrolling through his own images.

“Whoa! Wait, is that the Superman image?” Lena peered over his shoulder.

“Oh, yeah. I just snapped it a bit ago.”

“He moved here our sophomore year. He and Maggie are seniors,” Winn told her. “Before he left, he submitted that iconic first photo.”

“That’s really cool,” Lena said. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah.” He looked at her. “And I know who you are.”

She looked at him. “I can leave if you have something rude to say about my brother.”

“What? No!” He held up a hand in surrender. “I’m just saying you don’t have to worry about that awkward “I’m a Luthor” thing you’ve probably done all day. It’s cool. Ideals are person to person, not a family affair.”

“If it was, I would be homophobic,” Maggie said, finally speaking. She had just waved at Lena and then returned to shuffling through the mess of folders and loose papers in her backpack.

“I’m going to guess you’re gay,” Lena said.

“She’s the president and founder of the GSA here,” Kara sighed. “And she’s dating my sister.”

Maggie wore a shit eating grin. “I hooked up with Alex before she graduated. Kara’s not too fond of it.”

“Why?” Lena looked at Kara.

“Maggie put my sister in a gay panic and I just don’t like my sister dating my friends,” Kara blurted out. She groaned and ripped open a protein bar with her teeth.

“That’s your fourth one.” Winn looked over at her, still lazily stirring his yogurt.

“I had practice this morning and I have it after school,” Kara said, mouth full of granola.

“You’re going to get fat at this rate.” It was no one at the table that said it. Lena looked behind and saw a guy standing there. He had a five o’clock shadow and a blue collar haircut. He had his chest puffed out and arms crossed over his chest. He had a small grin, amused by his words. Though no one laughed.

Kara put down the bar and scooted over. The guy walked around and stuck himself between Winn and Kara even though Kara moved for him to be on the edge.

He put an arm around Kara. Lena expected Kara to slap him across the face, but she leaned into him.

“Who’s this?” He looked at Lena. “Maggie, did you bring your twelve-year-old sister to school?”

“I’m fifteen and very white,” Lena said flatly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Mon-El. The male half of the cutest couple of NCHS.”

“Alex and I proved last year the cutest couple doesn’t need to have a male half,” Maggie piped.

“Okay, I have to see a picture of Alex if you’re going to keep mentioning her!” Lena said.

“Should I or should you?” Kara questioned, smirking at Maggie. “I got a few from vacations and sister nights, but I know you take a picture of her on every date.”

Maggie blushed and pulled out her phone. She took less than a minute of scrolling to find a picture she felt did Alex justice. She passed it over. “This is her, Kara, and me after Kara’s last basketball game.”

Lena looked closely at the picture. There was a young woman with a grown out bob of brown hair stood between Maggie and Kara. All three were grinning. Kara had on a basketball uniform with the blue and purple colors belonging to the school. Maggie and Alex wore t-shirts that matched. One said “President of the Kara Danvers Fan Club” and the other was “Vice President of the Kara Danvers Fan Club.”

“Can I get one of those?” Lena chuckled.

“You won’t want one after knowing her for over a month,” Winn said. “I have the founder shirt. James has Historian.”

“What about Mon-El?”

“He hasn’t been elected to a position,” Maggie said before the man himself could talk.

“It’s a bit too tacky for my tastes. And I’m at tournaments with Kara anyway.”

“Which ones?”

“He’s a swimmer,” Winn said. He got a glare as he stopped Mon-el from talking. He just was quiet and picked up the left alone bar. “You going to eat this Kara?”

“Uh, no.”

“But you’ll be lifting for three hours. You’ll burn out.”

“I’m fine, Winn!” Kara hissed.

Lena arched a brow. She didn’t know a single thing yet the outburst seemed out of character.

Mon-el's hand dropped from Kara’s shoulder and they were holding hands a moment later.

“So how did you find this one?” He looked down at his girlfriend. He could’ve asked Lena herself why she was there. She felt like a little puppy picked up from a box with the way he chose to pose and phrase it.

“She’s in AP Lang with us. First day here and she was writing Dr. G’s essays.”

“I had her last quarter. I failed out and had to be transferred. She was such a bitch.” Mon-el rolled his eyes.

“In her emails, she seemed pretty patient and willing to work with students,” Lena shot back. She had started chains with her teachers, wanting to hit a stride.

“That’s her gender bias. She prefers her worst female student over her best male one.”

“She loves me,” Winn shot. He leaned into one hand and smiled. “And James won an award last quarter because she worked her ass off to make sure his achievements were glorified.”

“Well, you guys are more…feminine.”

“Feminine?” Lena looked at Winn and James.

“First, we aren’t. Second, we’re boyfriends. Bisexual, not gay. Funny story…”James looked at his partner.

“We met because we were both befriended and rejected by Kara back in freshman year. Well, James is a senior like Maggie. Took on our little junior asses back then,” Winn explained. He had his right hand on the table. He seemed relaxed and happy as James absently took his hand.

Lena fought a grin at the cuteness. “Shit I want a relationship that cute.”

“What do you look for in a guy? We got a good hook up around here,” Mon-el piped.

“My mother would string me up by my neck if I did that. I’m already on thin ice being here.”

“Why did you end up here?” He looked at her. “You are the highest walks of society. Why submit and walk amongst us mortals.”

“Mon-el,” Kara said.  It was a warning. He leaned back.

“I don’t have to tell you.” She felt shyness melt away as defensiveness came in. The world will say she was handed everything. Like she wasn’t studying her ass off just to be compared to Lex. The rage of it was enough for her to set her jaw and listen to the banter of the group.

“Anyways, I need some help with canvassing,” Maggie announced, pulling out a stack of rainbow colored fliers. “We lack straight people in the GSA. It’s just a Lesbigay group and if that goes on we will get that “exclusionary” bullshit and be shut down. Kara can you maybe get some of your teammates?”

Kara smiled at her. “I’ll try.” She took a small stack from the larger sum. Winn and James to a couple of slips. Mon-el picked at his nails.

“We should leave a stack for the swim team. You can get some of the guys and I can talk to the girls,” Kara said to him. He looked up.

“I don’t know. There’s a reason no straight people joined. It’s a gay club. Anyone who joins is pegged.”

Lena saw something stewing under the surface in Maggie.

“I’d love to join. Can I get one?” Lena grabbed a flier and looked it over. “Who’s the teacher?”

“Oh, Dr. G! Her husband is a counselor who has worked with the community for years. He used to do support groups for those affected in the AIDS epidemic and works with queer kids nowadays. They’re great.” Maggie lit up, flashing a grin touched with a dimple. “Alex and I went right to her and she happily accepted.”

“She’s probably a lesbian actually.” He looked at his phone. He looked at Kara. “We should bounce babe.”

“Where? Kara, you said you would take Lena around,” Winn said.

“Just an interview for the paper,” Kara said. She opened her bag. She shuffled through it before looking at Lena. “Is it okay if I pawn you off on one of these three?”

“I-I…”Lena looked at the trio helplessly. She couldn’t say no. She barely knew anyone.

“I only know her name,” James said.

“I only knew her name when I showed her to Chem.”

“Just go. I’ll find my way. See you in ninth.” Lena grabbed an apple from her lunchbox and bit into as Kara saluted her and walked away with Mon-el. “So how long have they dated?”

The group was quiet for a while before speaking. “Oh since the summer. Mon-el crash landed into the city months ago. He’s an independent that had a choice between jail or going back to school.”

“What was he in trouble for?” Lena leaned in.

James gripped his boyfriend’s hand tight. “Squatting, stealing, assault.”

“The first two are justifiable. He must’ve had it hard if he has no parents,” Lena mumbled.

“We don’t know much. And I lost both my parents. I never committed a crime,” Winn raised, his free hand reaching into a bag of chips.

Lena squinted and looked at his ID. That was something else. The school forced and enforced ID lanyards. She didn’t need to have hers out at her old school. One just used it as the scan for their meal plan and to get into dorms. No need to have it on.

She saw his full name was Winsor Schott.

“Oh…”Lena whispered. She looked at him. “Guess we have more in common than I previously thought.”

He smiled sadly. “Your family name doesn’t stand for murder.”

_Not that the public knows of._ Lena looked down. “So a few months? He seems…”

“Like an ass?” James finished. He pulled his hand from his boyfriend’s to hold his camera in both his hands. He adjusted the zoom and put it to his eye. A few clicks happened before he spoke again. “It was out of left field for all of us. Lack of chemistry, his dry and stale humor…and as a bisexual man I can say confidently his body is not something I would want.”

“It’s the reason why I’m happy to be a lesbian,” Maggie muttered, making a face. She looked at her phone after it buzzed. “Honestly? She only likes him because…” She pondered. “Because she’s so nice.”

“Let’s move on. Let’s hear more about the new kid,” Winn said lightly. They all looked at Lena. She wanted to shrink into her oversized jacket.

“Come on. We have twenty minutes to kill.”

“Um, I’m adopted?”

“So is Kara.”

“I know. She told me Eliza was her adoptive mother. Does she not have a dad?”

“We never met him. The Danvers ladies don’t talk a lot about Jeremiah.” Maggie sighed.

“So you want to be part of the family company?” Winn looked down at her.

“If I could own it I would. It’s a large platform with the potential to help a lot of people.” She didn’t even pause with her answer. She never hid her opinions on business. Pleasure was all that had to be quiet.

“You’re a junior?”

“Skipped in middle school. I roomed with juniors at my old place. The difference in age isn’t that much.”

“You can’t date people in your grade without risking them a dot on their record.” Maggie sounded disturbed. She saw Lena shift uncomfortably. “Why are you here?”

“I’m not answering that.” She coughed into her fist. They moved on and Lena ended up getting a promise to help her build her PC by Winn, James showing her a few tricks in photography, and learning how Maggie was deadest on the Academy once she finished college. She was warned that the girl could peg a lie, know one’s real thoughts, and many other things.

She got into a group chat they had. Maggie promised to show her to the art wing. The bell rang and she was off with the other girl.

“You’re a lesbian aren’t you?” Maggie said suddenly as they got into one of the few empty hallways.

“Um…”Lena blushed.

Maggie put an arm around her, her being only a few inches taller. The fond touch made Lena a bit tense. A warm touch from a girl was a recent discovery of hers. She never grew up with a loving female figure. Lillian, however, would be…

She stepped away from Maggie. “I don’t date women,” she said vaguely.

Maggie arched a brow. She looked ahead and shrugged. “Alright.” She stopped at a door different from all the others. It was painted matte black and had chalk drawing on it. “This is Ms. Cabin’s room. You’ll love her.” She adjusted her bag and turned the other way as the warning bell went off. She made a mad dash, jumping over a half-finished sculpture left outside the other art rooms.

Lena sighed and looked at her phone as she walked in. It was a text from Kara.

**_Supergirl: Want to come over after school? My practice got canceled_ **

Lena bit her lip. She quickly shot back.

**_Lena: Sure!_ **

She sank into a seat and resisted a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make this easier to follow and not have to give flash backs, Maggie, Winn, and James know Kara and Mon-el's lineage. (Don't know he's a prince and he isn't in his twenties when Daxam was rained down upon.) Kara hasn't become Supergirl. Mon-el doesn't have an inhibitor (as I'm sure you figured out the odd green ring (kryptonite) was a way so that Kara could be an athlete without having a dangerous and blatant edge)
> 
> So Mon-el's banter is to him a joke that Lena couldn't be a part of. TO her he just sounds like an idiot. 
> 
> It's also hard to write him but he's part of the story sadly


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena gets to meet the Danvers clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so drained and I get this story in flashes. Like I have chapter 7 or something written but not five. (I have a four that I have to edit and maybe add to)

Lena strolled into the last class of the day. She saw it was a simple lay out more of a computer lab. There were about twelve desktops on each side of the room on a wooden counter. Then in the center of the room was six tables with four chairs each.

Half the computers were filled, students typing away or editing layouts. She saw written on the board: Work Period. Headphones and hushed conversations.

Kara was at the first computer from the door. She looked up when Lena came in. “Am I late?” she whispered.

“No. A lot of people just show up early and get right to business.”

“I thought this was about how to write.”

“It’s that and the school paper.” Kara pat the empty seat next to her.  Lena dropped her bag and sat down. “The teacher is out right now making copies for you. We have some sources and you need to set up a staff profile on our website.”

“Right. What are you to this class?”

“Student editor. Snapper doesn’t like me though.”

“Snapper?”

“The teacher.” Kara put one earbud in as a balding man stepped in. He adjusted his glasses and had a folder underneath his arm.

“You must be the new student,” he said. “I’m Mr. Snapper. The kids call me Snapper. You call me anything but those two I will never forgive it.” He handed her the folder. “This is some information and your first assignment. I feel out the student’s baseline.”

“I’ll get on that…”She looked at the computer. “Am I in the system yet?”

“Put in your first initial and last name all in lowercase. Then your birthday as the password. Then change the password. Don’t forget it.” He went back to his desk.

She logged on and looked over at Kara. The other girl was silent and typing quickly. Lena looked and noticed she was writing about the Alien Sanctuary Act that gave sanctuary to aliens escaping war torn planets.

Kara stopped and looked at Lena. “Having troubles?”

“No,” she said quickly. She looked back at her desktop and pulled up a document. She looked at the first assignment. It was to configure a two hundred fifty word article about a current event. She pulled up a few news sources and a notebook. She worked quietly until the bell rang. It took a moment for the students to realize it did. The writers all erupted into a bit of light conversation and packing up.

“Remember this issue’s articles are due Friday!” Kara shouted. She shut off her computer and took the flash drive from the computer. She looked at Lena. “Let’s go.” She adjusted the ring on her right index finger and took off her jacket.

Lena nearly gasped when she saw what was hidden. Underneath Kara was wearing a tank top that showed off her arms. They showed her muscle tone, triceps cut, and bicep popping when she lifts up her heavy backpack.

Lena bit her lip and looked away quickly like Kara was an eclipse.

“Hey? Come on.” Kara adjusted her bag and walked out. Lena followed, jogging to keep up. She could see the toning on her upper back. It was so much worse that the skin was tanned and smooth…

“What practice got canceled?” She whispered. She didn’t mean to be hushed, but she was afraid she would have a husked voice.

“Lifting. The softball team needs the room because we have an indoor batting cage there too. But we can’t be in there the same time. It what it is I guess.” Kara got them out of the school. “Don’t lose me.”

They weaved through the crowd and got onto the sidewalk. “So what are you writing about for your assignment?” Kara looked down at her. She noticed Lena had taken off her makeup. She went from looking a bit intimidating to looking intimidated. That was her day though. She seemed terrified unless she was working. In a way it was cute.

“Oh, I’m writing about the all-female Lord of the Flies movie. Critiques it’s gotten.”

“How it destroys the purpose of the story?” Kara looked ahead. “If you need fresh eyes I’m always here.”

“Thanks. So what’s your thoughts on the topic you’re writing about? I saw it was about planetary sanctuary.”

No hesitation as she spoke up. “I’m for it. I’ve grown up in a point of view that allows me to know and see how terrible life is for those who escaped and how being on Earth has saved them.” She adjusted her glasses. “What about you?”

“My mother would rather they all be sent home. Lex feels the same.”

“I asked about your opinion.” Kara’s brow scrunched up, deepening the scar.

Lena swallowed. “I…don't really know. I don’t see the fears. They vet them so it’s just civilians here. Everyone just wants life and peace. Human or alien. Though no one else in my family sees it like that.”

Kara smiled slightly and nodded. Her features were softened. “Nice to hear.”

“How did you meet your group?”

“Oh, Winn and I met in Pre-Calc. James and I took photography one. I failed and he was top of the class. I needed an art credit.”

“Does he want to be a photographer?”

“Photo journalist. Talks about how he wishes to make human right issues as well recorded as Vietnam was.”

“You want to be a journalist too?”

“I don’t know what I want actually. Just going to study humanities and see where life takes me.” She tucked her hands into her pockets.

“No Olympics?”

“I’m doing sports for fun. I don’t want to make a career out of it. And you don’t know my talents? I could be shit.”

“I got to look you up. You hold state records for dead lifts and discus throwing.” Lena saw a hue of pink appear on Kara’s cheeks. “And you also lifted me up without much trouble.”

“I, uh, it was nothing really!” Kara silently knew the disaster she would face if Kal found out she was becoming chummy with a Luthor. But what was the harm? She wasn’t out there like he was.

“It’s impressive. Be proud and not embarrassed.”

“Not exactly feminine,” she mumbled. She rubbed at her jaw, a habit she adopted from Jerimiah when she was a child and never lost even though he was.

“So what? A woman doesn’t have one type. Femininity isn’t for everyone. I personally just enjoy it. Though it is partially enforced.” Kara looked down at her. She saw pictures while looking up Lena. Through the years, all she really saw was Lena in her best dresses. Nothing strayed from there.

“You a debutant?” Kara knew that at Krypton she would’ve had something similar. She would be talking up the boys who trained in various guilds. It wouldn’t be as bad as being a debutant. Marriage wasn’t expected, not even courting. It was just to introduce the sexes as they would’ve grown up separated for years.

“First ball was last year.” Lena grimaced. 

“What do you think of that whole high society stuff?”

“Let’s just say I’m not mad to be away from all those other rich girls.” She smiled slightly and fiddled with her triangular earrings.

“What about the guys?”

“I never really encountered them. Boarding school and no guys in our dorms. It was the opposite of a sausage fest.”

Kara grinned and nodded. She looked at the road as a car horn beeped at them twice. Lena nearly jumped out of her skin as a red Prius pulled up next to them.

“Hey, need a ride?” A feminine voice came. Lena looked in and saw the woman from the photograph. Alex Danvers in the flesh.

“Oh hell yeah!” Kara got into the front. Lena timidly opened the back door and slid in.

“I’ve never met this one,” Alex said to her sister as she got back on the road.

“She’s new. This is Lena,” Kara told her sister. “She knows about you.”

“What about me?”

“You’re dating Maggie? She’s a sweet woman,” Lena said. “She showed me around, gave me a flier, showed me pictures of you. I learned about your gay panic.”

Alex chuckled. “Senior year! Crazy times. You girls will see in one to two years.”

“She’s a junior, Al,” Kara chuckled, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Wait. Fuck no. She’s so small! That’s a lower class man.”

Lena blushed. “Hey! I don’t look that young and I…skipped a grade. I’m fifteen.”

“Alright. So did you just move here?”

“No. I’ve lived in National City for a bit. Used to be in Metropolis.”

“Yeah, we came here my freshman year. My first year with the Danvers we were in Midvale,” Kara said.

“What do you think of the new superhero?” Alex stopped suddenly to prevent hitting a pedestrian.

“Just happy I haven’t had a disaster bad enough to need him.” Lena looked out the window. The two sisters talked.

“Next time tell me when you take the car. I wasn’t prepared and late,” Kara said. “Dr. G was pissed.”

“Please. She doesn’t care if you’re late as long as you have your work. Oh, wait.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Kara whined. Lena looked back at the two. She saw Alex roll her eyes via the rearview mirror.

“Yes, your boyfriend borrowed your thousand dollar laptop and then was shoved into the water by the male swim team. I know the story. He’s buying you a new one, right?”

“He can’t exactly afford to. Plus he didn’t mean to.”

“Kara, you told him to stash it in his locker before practice. Said you were worried about having it anywhere near the pool. He ignored your one request and you’re out of gigs of music, photos, and assignments,” Alex muttered.

“I have Eliza’s desktop at home! I’m fine. You’d forgive Maggie.”

“Maggie listens. If something entirely out of her power that none of us could foresee happened, I would. But Mon-el had instructions of how to care for it that he ignored and the knowledge that the boys swim team takes any chance they can to push fellow teammates into the pool. I learned the hard way my sophomore year.”

“You just have a grudge because he asked who the man was.”

“We’re lesbians!” Alex pulled into the driveway of a quaint ranch style house.

Kara climbed out of the front and opened the door for Lena. “Excuse her.”

“I could lend you one of mine, Kara,” Lena spoke without thought. She got out and grabbed her bag. She only had the one on her person and her gaming PC that has yet to be built.

“One of?” Kara arched a brow. Lena panicked briefly, fearing she would seem like she was giving out charity.

“Yeah…It’s a funny story. Lex bought me a computer for my birthday without knowing that I had purchased myself one of those touch screen computers. And I know a writer like you could get a lot of use from it. Already has Photoshop and InDesign.”

“I…you sure?” Kara smiled. Those precious eyes sparkled.

“Yeah!” Lena said quickly. She silently noted to go to the store. She messaged Taylor her whereabouts, having only told him she didn’t need a ride home before.

“O-okay.” She walked into the house. Alex had already strolled in. She was on the couch with a textbook in her lap and a lap desk next to her with a notebook.

A middle-aged woman came out of the kitchen. Lena noticed how Kara looked a lot like her. The blonde hair and sparkling eyes. Heck, a similar nose and hairline. Though she knew this was her adoptive mother.

“Who’s this Kara?” Eliza questioned. She had a hand on her hip.

“Oh, this is Lena. She’s in a few of my classes and is new. She’s a little genius!”

Lena blushed. “Eliza right?” She looked up at the woman.

“Yes. So what brought you to the city?”

“Changed schools for personal reasons.” She shrugged, not wanting to tell people. Plus she knew this kindness was temporary. Kara would lose interest. They all would. Maggie, James, Winn…Mon-el had no interest in Lena. She could tell he had no interest in anyone outside Kara.

“Well, we’re going upstairs,” Kara told her mom.

Lena tensed. “C-could be maybe stay down here?”

“Alex has to study down here. Her room is near construction so she can’t focus. And we’ll distract her.”

“Alright…”Lena dropped her bag down by the door and they walked upstairs. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Upstairs Kara kicked off her shoes and lied out on her bed. Lena looked around the room. It was a small red room with photos hung up on fishing line. For three years there was a lot Kara kept. She saw a line just for her relationship. Kiss photos, in his arms, photos at meets…

Lena touched one where it was Kara and Mon-el at a dance, in a suit and a dress.

“Homecoming this year,” Kara told her. “Jerimiah’s suits fit him.”

“What happened to your adoptive dad?”

Kara sat up. She frowned. “H-he was working for the government. I don’t much…all we knew he was working with aliens. Something went wrong and he never came home.” She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Lena sat next to her. “Sorry to hear that.”

“What’s your dad like? You mentioned Lillian a bit, but what about Lionel?”

“He’s sick,” she said weakly. “Why Lex took over. My dad would walk through hell before giving my brother so much. He had to.”

“He’ll be back at it soon I’m sure.” Kara looked down at her. She fiddled absently with her ring.

Lena smiled and nodded, not wanting to voice how certain she was that she was going to lose the one person she could positively say loved her. 

“So why public school?” Kara inquired.

“Only option.” Lena looked at her phone as it buzzed.

**_Veronica: I know you still have my number. Your mother doesn’t check your phone. Talk to me_ **

Lena tucked the phone away.

“Who was that?”

“Friend from my old school. Not important.” She forced a small smile. “So did James take these photos?”

“Some. I have a Polaroid I like to use.” She grabbed a secondhand camera covered with duct tape and stickers.

“Vintage. I like it.” Lena took it when offered and looked through the view finder. She snapped a picture of Kara, catching a small and observant smile. Archaic.

She covered it after it printed. A moment she looked at the developed photo. “You can keep it,” Kara told her. She took the camera back.

Lena tucked it into her pocket. She looked up just to be surprised with a flash.

Kara shook out the photo. She held it up and chuckled. She showed it to Lena. She looked like a deer in the headlights. Her brows were raised.

“I’m keeping this,” Kara told her, grinning.

“No!” Lena lunged for it. Kara held it up. “You asshole!”

“Get it shorty.” Kara chuckled and moved her hand as Lena tried. Lena leaned in a bit too much and they were both laid back.

Lena stopped squirming and looked down at Kara. She shot back like a bullet and crossed her arms over her chest.

Kara sat up slowly and put the picture into her pocket. “You okay?” She looked down at the other woman.

“Oh, yeah.” Lena looked at her phone again. Kara saw it was a text…but the girl didn’t reply.

“It’s okay to text them. I won’t see you as rude.”

“I don’t want to talk to them is the thing.” Lena tucked the phone away. “They’re my roommate from my old school.”

“Falling out? Did you get kicked out because of a fist fight?”

“Don’t want to say.” Lena sighed.

“Changing topic!” Kara shot off. She got up and left the room just like that.

Lena blinked and felt herself start to smile. “What…”

Kara came back carrying two cans and a bowl. She tossed a can to Lena. The younger woman caught it.

“Who the hell drinks plain La Croix?”

“I hate the taste of fruit.” Kara sat down and put a fistful of popcorn into her mouth. She spoke with her mouth still a bit full. “So tell me, what do you do when you’re not doing hours of school work and trapeze?”

“Don’t laugh.” She tapped her can and slowly opened it to keep it from fizzing over. “I build robots or just go driving.”

“But you’re fifteen?”

“My family owns enough land that I can spend hours in a car and never leave our private property. Just go around. Way to get away. Take some food and some paper. Stop up somewhere and not see my mom. Come back when she calls.” She sipped her drink, making the face at just being hit in the face by the bubbliness. “Just to be…alone.”

“You’re an artist?”

“I don’t draw people much. Landscapes aren’t so hard. A lot of it is invention ideas. Lex looks at my stuff. Listens. Since my dad entered the hospital he’s the only person that listens.”

“I see.” Kara ran her fingers through her hair. “So…what’s life for you after high school gonna be?”

“MIT…they offered me a scholarship for the next semester, but I was four credits shy of graduation. Figured I’d just finish one year early and not three. My mom isn’t happy, but it was my choice. For once really.”

“After that?”

“I don’t know. I want to be more medically zoned in my endeavors, but Lex is very tech and weapons based.”

“I see.” Kara leaned back against the headboard. “If you could own it, would you?”

“I don’t know. If I could, I would do a startup.” She looked up at the ceiling, contemplating. “Focus on cancer…”She bit her lip. She wanted to say one simple sentence but didn’t desire pity.

“So you can fix him?” Kara said without missing a step. Lena felt her hand on her shoulder.

The touch was warm. More than Maggie’s was.

“I guess.” Lena flinched as her phone rang. She pulled it out. “Fuck, it’s my mom.”

Kara watched her demeanor change. Lena was acting shy but at least seemed relaxed. Now her shoulders were up and her jaw set.

Her delicate hands shook as she clicked accept. Kara slipped her ring off subtly and tuned it. She fought flinching when Mrs. Luthor screamed: “Where are you!”

“I-I texted…I’m just at a friend’s.”

“You will not be doing what you did! You hear me? You have already disgraced me enough! I’ve sent Taylor to come get you.”

“Okay…I’ll be home soon.” She was trying to stay calm, hide the conversation.

“I can’t believe I let him keep you,” Lillian muttered. Kara fought showing any expression. She hid the pain she felt for Lena behind a questioning look, prepared to ask casually who it was.

“I’ll be home. Love you.” She hung up. She looked at Kara and faked calm. Kara wondered if she was going to cry. “I have to go.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.” Kara got up and they went back downstairs.

Lena walked out. Kara looked out and noticed there was a sleek black car waiting outside. There was a man in the front seat. Middle-aged and decently built, she guessed it was Taylor. She tried to listen into the car but then felt a shot of pain in her head. A high buzz came and she whimpered.

“Fuck,” she muttered and pawed around in her pocket for the ring. It numbed her abilities as it joined her finger.

“What’s wrong?” Eliza quipped as she came into the living room.

“Just heard a buzzing noise…hurt my alien ears,” she said lightly.

“Huh…alright.” She walked away, seeming confused. She called from the kitchen. “Lena seemed nice!”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, she did.”

She messaged Lena.

**_Supergirl: Uh hey you can talk to me whenever even though we just met?_ **

**_Supergirl: Not to seem too pushy you just shouldn’t do high school alone_ **

She sat in a chair adjacent from the couch.

“She’ll need a friend.” Alex didn’t look up.

“Trying, Al.”

She saw a reply

**_LLL: thanks, I’ll keep that in mind_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to warn that the next chapter is going to have some homophobic slurs and classic Mon-el manipulation. 
> 
> Also, I can't seem to figure how passive Kara would be to take this and how long she could. In the show, she did explode quite a bit but also took a lot of bs.


	4. All My Gay Expertise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of drama creates an antagonization of Mon-el. Lena struggles to grapple with her past while remaining available to those now close to her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! I have to go in first to say there is some gay bashing in this. I don't want anyone to be negatively affected and it is the basis of conversation in the second half of the chapter.

Lena checked the note Winn gave her again as she wandered through the E building. She was looking at the numbers that were jumbled thanks to turns and branching off halls. She was half-expecting a Minotaur to jump out at her due to the complex layout. She checked her phone, half-ready to ask for more directions.

She was following his request to meet up during a study hall. He had access to keys thanks to assisting the IT department. That gave him access to the whole school, including the rooms that went unused.

She found the room he directed her to and twisted the knob. It barely turned to indicate it being locked.

She knocked twice before the door was swung open. There stood James, towering over her yet still having a relaxed demeanor that couldn’t frighten a soul. He was defused and had a quirked grin. It just spoke volumes that Winn was close to him.

Lena knew they had more happiness in a few months together than most people have had in a whole marriage.

“Hey, you found it,” he praised, stepping aside for her. She walked in.

“I’m smarter than I look.”

“No, you look really smart,” he said, arms crossed over his chest. He had his camera dangling off his neck.

 She saw Winn sat at a desk. He had on goggles and held a soldering tool. He looked up as she stepped in.

“Hi! Come over here and help me. You said you were good at this.” He motioned for her with a hand.

She wandered up, taking off her flannel and hanging it on a chair. She looked around the room. It wasn’t a classroom. Just a square room with a computer in the corner and a shelf with a few textbooks. There were a few chairs and pieces of technology.

“This is his sanctuary,” James told her. She nodded and sank next to Winn.

“My fortress,” he beamed. He slid over the project. She looked over the wires and what he had drawn out.

It had been a few weeks since she came to school. Since Kara spent so much time at practice, she found herself hanging out Winn and James. Maggie had taken her to a GSA meeting and a movie in the past few weeks. None of them besides Kara had taken her home with them.

She found out about James’ father and what drove him. He learned about Winn’s living situation and how he makes do.

They had less than her in every way but smiled more.

She was working on the wires and saw from the corner of her eyes that James had his arms around Winn’s shoulders. He kissed his scruffy cheek and made him smile even though he seemed exhausted. It was simple and not expected. They were happy and effortless.

She had worked so hard for love in her life. She never saw it as being easy for her.

She found out Winn had a full-time job at a tech repair shop a block from the school. He got his tech from building with scrap or taking what people abandoned or traded. He used a repaired smartphone that someone brought in and decided it wasn’t work fixing. It was paired up with a smartwatch someone traded in for an exchange of him fixing their VR headset, headphones, and drone.

James was an intern thanks to the principal. She saw him publishing pictures, said how the world needed more talent like him, and helped him apply.

Lena sat back and looked at her work. She smiled slightly, going back to when Lex taught her. How she practiced on useless boards and her own creations. She would pull Lex and Lionel to her creations and they would appraise her work. Lionel then would fondly say how one day the two would take the empire from him. It was before things changed.

“Looking good,” Winn told her. He was blushing and smiling at whatever James said to him. Lena knew it was probably a joke or a compliment. She noticed they weren’t especially sexual. Not what she had seen.

“You guys are so cute.”

“Yeah, we know,” James smirked and sank into a seat next to his boyfriend. Winn stroked his fingers absently along James’ forearm, attuned to touch.

“What’s this for?” Lena looked over the drawing. She tried to the turn the page and Winn put his hand over it.

“A gift not for your eyes to see.” Winn walked over to an armoire with a lock on it. He pulled a key from his pocket and opened it up. He pulled out a table holding a sewing machine and various swaths of fabric.

“You sew too?”

“He does it all. Perfect,” James hummed. He pulled his camera from his lap. He stood and put his eye to the viewfinder. A few clicks in Winn crossed the room and covered the camera lens with his hands.

“No pictures!” He said dramatically. James rolled his eyes. He sank back down next to Lena as Winn got to work.

“Can’t believe I love that guy,” he whispered and flipped through his pictures. He showed some of his newest ones. He had gone through most of his cards with Lena, her being intrigued.

He had pictures of Kara at her sports events. Action shots of her midair, coming up for air, mid-squat…it wasn’t fair that she looked nice while putting her all into something. There were other athletes in it too of course, but he focused on his close friend. Lena remembered always failing to look elegant while fucking up her joints and feet during ballet.

“When’s her next…anything?”

“She has a meet tonight. You in?”

“Yeah. My mom is out of town.”

“Perfect. Then we’re going to your place afterward.” It was a Friday.

“I’ll make a few calls to get the house ready,” Lena told him. He rolled his eyes and grinned.

“Extra. I like it.”

“I have something for you!” Winn ran over holding a t-shirt, shoving it into Lena’s arms. She held it before her.

“Publicist of the Kara Danvers Fan Club?” She read. She fought a smile. “Do I have to?”

“No, but we’ll be wearing ours.” James opened his shirt up to show he had his on. “The goal is to embarrass her. Eliza misses a lot because of her job. We are stand-in cheerleaders. Parents are your greatest ally, right?”

She smiled and nodded. _Or the axis to your ally._

“Your mom okay with all this?”

He paused, looking at Lena. She smiled sheepishly. He laughed a bit, a reaction with no thought behind it. “She loves Winn. He comes over for Sunday dinner. Sometimes sleeps over. I rock the couch and he gets my bed.” James got up and opened his bag. He pulled out his phone. “Sorry, it’s my friend Clark.”

“Kent? That new journalist?”

“That’s the one. How’d you know?”

“I’m very intuitive. You sold to the Daily Planet, he is the biggest Superman writer, and you have that look that says ‘I almost forget she’s Lex’s sister’ whenever I make you smile. Clark has been like that whenever he encounters me.”

“Very good, Lee.” He flashed that smile and realized it. “Fuck.” He covered his mouth and walked to his little corner of the room. It had books stacked up and spare lenses along with batteries.

Lena got up to leave them be. Winn sent her off with a bottle of iced coffee he had stashed in his bag and a salute.

She was smiling as she left. She checked her phone as she entered the traffic of the hall. She looked around the letterman jacket she knew well. She located a taped pack first. She saw Maggie posting fliers. She looked down the hall and saw a few guys ripping the just posted fliers.

Maggie eventually noticed. She stopped and turned to the group.

Lena sipped her coffee and noticed that Mon-el was following the perpetrator that was ripping the fliers.

“What are you doing?” Maggie called to him. She was using her authority voice Lena had only heard her use towards James when he put her phone on a high shelf.

“Public service,” the guy chuckled. He had a buzz cut and freckles over his ugly little nose. He had on one of the jackets. The three others wore them as well.

Lena had found they were mostly worn on days of competition or the week upcoming. She knew that these were swimmers.

She stepped out of her hiding spot.

“Give them to me,” Maggie told him. She reached for them. A taller swimmer took the papers and passed them to Mon-el when Maggie went for them again.

“Look, they local dyke’s getting all red in the face,” the taller one spoke.

The freckled one pushed Maggie back when she lunged again. “Get lost,” he sneered. He looked at the fliers.

“Give them to me,” Maggie said softly. She moved for them, but Mon-el held them away. “Mon-el, now!”

“Mon, man!”

“Julian shut the fuck up.” Mon-el glared at the freckled one that had been tearing down the fliers.

Maggie was glaring at the three. “Give them to me!”

“Just go, Mags.”  

“Give them over to me!” She looked ready to smack someone.

Julian stepped up. “Fuck off lezzie.” He shoved her. Maggie stumbled, back hitting the lockers with a clang.

James stepped out from the room, standing beside Lena. He handed her his camera and stepped in. He stepped up to Julian and stared him down.

“What’s the problem here?” He said calmly. His demeanor changed. He went from happy go lucky to “I dare you to lay a finger on her again.” He was taller than all three.

Julian lost his cocky grin. The tallest of them was shaken.

“No,” Julian said quickly. “Mon give them the fliers.”

Mon-el handed them to Maggie. She held them to her chest and glared steadily.

“Now…get out of here!” James shouted, alarming all who gathered. Those passive scattered and the swimmers backed up before running.

Mon-el avoided eye contact as he had to pass James and Maggie.

Lena approached and handed James his camera.

“I can’t believe she chose a guy like that over you,” Maggie said to James.

“I don’t care about that anymore. It’s more I can’t believe she chose a guy like that. I don’t matter in this situation.”

They looked down and noticed Lena. James noted she looked a bit pale and was shaking.

“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked, brow creased in worry.

“That happens everywhere apparently. Thought people were only like that in private.”

“You must be really ignorant if you think that.” Maggie took a second to process after speaking. “Oh. Your mother’s homophobic?”

“It's....a story for another day.” Lena walked away.

James sighed as his boyfriend came out of the room.

“Who was it this time?”

“He went from “I’m not homophobic, but…” to just be a bystander asshole.” James put an arm around his partner and kissed his temple.

The three scattered when a teacher yelled at them to get to class.

* * *

 

Lena caught up with Maggie outside of the school. She found that Mon-el hadn’t said to Kara what had happened in ninth. Though she couldn’t care less about him—her concern fell at Maggie. She seemed angrier during the whole encounter…but part of her felt she was fighting a different negative emotion. God knew Lena had been.

Maggie was standing around and scrolling through her phone. Lena approached her, calling out quietly, “Maggie?”

The girl looked up, her brown eyes locking onto Lena’s green ones. She smiled kindly, her dimple as if one pressed a thumb into terra cotta.

“Hey, what’s up? Don’t you usually have a driver?”

“I do. I was wondering if you wanted a ride?”

“Never turn it down.” She tucked her phone away and put her hands in her jacket pockets. It was an oversized letterman with last year on it. It had Danvers on the patch. Lena was able to deduce Maggie snatched it off her girlfriend.

They walked to the visitor lot. Taylor was parked out there. He got out of the car when Lena approached.

“Lee-Lee,” he practically cooed, as if she was still a six-year-old. He opened the door for her and gave an air kiss to each of her cheeks before she got in.

Maggie snorted after the door was shut after them. “What was that?”

Lena rolled up the partition. “Taylor used to be my nanny. He’s practically a third parent. Well, more of a parent than my parents. His whole career was to keep me and Lex on the right path developmentally and to feel loved.”

“I was just raised by my Abuela when my parents worked. She had a strong sense of justice that was what makes me want to go into the force. Funny, my dad is actually a cop. He didn’t make me want to be one. Opposite.”

“She sounds lovely.”

She was smiling again. Lena saw it and understood how she could make a girl reconsider. Her demeanor and her beauty, were wonderful toppings adding to her caring yet dry personality. “She was one of those women, you know? Made the men fall when young, married the right guy at twenty, had that lot of kids, and now congregates with them every week. She doesn’t go to church. Says she made her ways with god.”

“She still alive?”

“Nah…died when I was twelve. I guess I phrased that in the wrong tense.” She crossed her arms. “Her last words to me didn’t make sense until years later. She said…god, what was it?” She tipped her head back. “Oh—‘the man you will love in life doesn’t scare me, mi nieta. I know him well. It is the other side I fear.’ She knew I was gay. She was saying ‘I don’t give a shit about you liking guys. You only love your father when it comes to males. I’m afraid of the girls hurting you.’”

“It’s always the motherly figures that see it first.” Maggie nodded, smiling. Lena looked down at Maggie’s torn up bag. “Why do you lug this around?”

“I’ve had it since sixth grade. I grew attached to it I guess. I mean, it’s carried so much of me. And also it pisses off Alex how out of shape it is so that’s a bonus.”

Lena nodded. “You okay about what happened today?”

Maggie faltered. “I’m used to it. Those guys aren’t the first man to call me those slurs. Won’t be the last.”

“But it’s National City!”

“Yeah, what’s your point? It’s a city, but not all cities are liberal hubs where you can be gay or avant-garde. If you could, why the hell spend hours of my time on this club?” Maggie straightened up. “I do this because it’s so easy to isolate a teenager. And that’s how you kill them—making them be alone with themselves and their insecurities. It’s based on the LGBT community, but it’s a place for anyone who needs a damn community.”

“You’re right. It’s easy to feel alone.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that Lena.” Maggie paused. “What did you think about what happened?”

Lena bit her thumbnail. “I was so happy when James stepped in and they ran.”

“That’s not the only thing that happened.”

Lena sighed. “I’m…not sure how I feel.”

“You can talk to me.” Maggie smiled at her. “We’re just driving around right now because I didn’t give the driver my address yet. So…we got plenty of time.”

Lena shut her eyes for a moment. Her heart sped up as she recalled the months of screaming, of isolation. The texts she ignored, the rejections within Headmaster offices, middle-aged people with an Ivy League education staring her down as they said they would never take her, no matter her grades.

“I was afraid you were going to be hurt. Mon-el wasn’t going to help you. I wanted him to. Is he that bad? What does Kara even see in such a terrible person when there are men like James and Winn!”

Lena covered her mouth, heart dropping. She hadn’t said the worst of her thoughts. But it also wasn’t how she was taught to react.

Maggie just cracked a smile. “I know. I can’t wait for Kara to know what happened. She’ll dump his sorry ass for sure.” She shrugged. “If a bit of the d being thrown at me is what it takes, so be it. I’ve gotten over it out of the moment. I won’t forgive and will never forget.” She chuckled. “I was trying not to laugh when their faces dropped at James. I mean he comes in like a goddamn papa bear in his six foot four glory and they bolted like cats from a barking dog.”

Lena laughed with her, even if she didn’t feel like Maggie did. “Yeah…”

“So I don’t get to hear that story you promised?”

“Not yet. I’m not legally allowed to, technically.”

Maggie just arched a brow. “Okay?” She rolled down the partition and gave Taylor her address. The next few minutes was less heavy, them talking about the night ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a different storyline for this at first. It was that Kara was there and that Lena threw her coffee at Julian's head, sending him to the nurse and then bolting off. But then I went, "how about we develop different areas of the group dynamic?" Because I feel a fatal flaw is the lack of Super friends getting to know Lena. 
> 
> Though I wonder how my ideas would change the dynamics I'm creating.


	5. Swim Meet/Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After joining superfriends at Kara's swim meet, Lena hosts a sleepover. 
> 
> And finally, tells the truth to Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long, but I felt like these two parts should just be together because it happens within the same block of time

Lena showed up to the meet a bit late. She heard the splashing noise of limbs parting chemical waters. She bolted up to the group’s spot on the bleachers. “Sorry!” She sat between Maggie and Winn. Alex was to Maggie’s right.

“It’s okay. She hasn’t swam yet,” Winn told her. He grinned. “You’re wearing the shirt!”

“I swallowed my pride.” She took the package he offered her. “Oreos? Score! I haven’t had these for the better part of a decade.” She tore it open with her teeth. The group laughed at her as she hummed at their fake sweet taste and the irreplaceable cream.

“You are too cute,” Alex snorted. “Even smaller than Maggie.”

“Want to fucking fight Danvers?” Maggie stared her girlfriend down. Alex tried to kiss it all better just to get her head pushed aside.

Lena searched the deck for Kara. She found her quickly, sat with a towel draped over her shoulders. She had a swim cap on. Lena was puzzled to see that green ring on even though she was about to enter the water.

“Why does she wear that everywhere she goes?” Lena asked Alex.

Alex ate a few pieces of Cracker Jacks before speaking up. “Good luck charm. From where she came from.”

“Where was she born?”

“….Russia?” Alex arched a brow. “I don’t know much about her past. Her mom was some sort of lawyer and her dad a scientist. Died in a natural disaster, her first cousin couldn’t take her so she ended up with us.” It was a practiced nonchalance Alex honed over the years.

Lena nodded and looked at her again. Kara was more focused on looking over a laminated paper her coach handed to her. Her brow creased, but the scar was hidden under her pushed up goggles. She rubbed at her chiseled jaw like she usually did.

Lena bit her lip as she looked more. She was able to see Kara’s strong legs in all their glory. The muscles had slight contours and her legs were smooth. And fuck, she could see through the tight fabric, the line down the middle of her abs being prominent.

“She’s in good shape,” Lena said casually. She got a bit of laughter.

“Could say that,” Maggie remarked, getting a light punch to her shoulder from her girlfriend. “Come on, I’m not personally interested in little Danvers, but I can acknowledge there is good reasons people see her as attractive.”

“So your place after this? What are we going to do?” Winn asked her.

“Well, Taylor will be picking us up. No on drove here right?”

“Nope. Prius in the shop,” Alex sighed.

“Then we will be picked up, and Maria whipped up some late dinner and I made sure to get stocked up on ice cream. Vegan and not, don’t worry. There’s a lot to do. We have a home theater, all up to date consoles, a lot of board games…”

“I can’t wait.” Winn smiled and nudged her. She smiled back.

They watched the races. Mon-el was in the hundred free. He was lapping half the competition. His second was a gasp from him.

He came out of the pool after the race. He was dripping wet and the winner with a new record under his belt. Lena scoffed because he was wearing a speedo while the other guys had on a set of tight racing trunks. He was showing off and yet he had the most basic muscle tone. The group chuckled about it.

He ripped off his cap and sank next to Kara. Lena lost her smile a bit as Kara put her towel over his head and kissed his nose. It was sickeningly sweet on her side. She stood and went to get ready for her category.

“She’s a backstroke and butterfly swimmer,” Alex told Lena.

“Huh?” Lena looked away from Kara and at the older woman.

“If she hasn’t told you what she does. She does those two. Speed competitively and a personal goal is distance for her.”

“I knew that. She talked about swimming the English channel before she finishes college.” Lena smiled. “For someone who “doesn’t want a life of athleticism,” she has a lot of athletic goals.”

“That’s a Danvers woman.” Alex grinned. “I did martial arts—currently kick boxing—and in high school, I was on the fencing and swim team.”

“Do you Danvers women also never sleep?”

“Don’t need to with enough endorphins!” She smirked and sipped from her water.

Lena leaned forward, watching Kara bending to jump into the water for butterfly. The buzzer went and with that, four different girls kicked off.

“Come on Kara!” Winn shouted.

The whole group shouted, cheering and stomping their feet. Lena just was quiet. Kara was fighting to get in first with another girl.

The last lap came and Kara was pulling ahead. “Go Kara!” Lena finally shouted.

“Yeah, fuck them up!” Maggie whooped, slapping Lena on the back. Lena chuckled.

They cheered as the times posted, put K. Danvers at first.

“Heck yeah!” James shouted. They clapped and Kara was grinning like a fool as she pulled herself up onto the deck. She looked at the group and then did a double take.

A few minutes later a dripping wet Kara was showing up in the bleachers. “You came!” She said to Lena before acknowledging anyone else.

“I wanted to see my hero in her element,” Lena grinned. Kara blushed and took off her swim cap. She shook out her hair. Lena bit her lip and looked away.

“I would hug you but I’m wet.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Lena shrugged and hugged her. Kara laughed quietly and lifted her off her feet.

“There’s that enthusiasm I was hoping for!” She cheered. She spun around a bit and put down Lena. She looked at the rest.

The two couples had a similar look. Those shorter looked at their taller partner, head turned up.

“Sorry guys,” Kara said sheepishly, figuring they felt ignored.

“Lena came by and we will be having our sleepover at her place,” James said. “My mom was, suffice to say, okay with not hosting.”

“Can’t wait. I should get back.” She looked at Lena. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re sticking around us.” She gave another one armed hug to the younger girl and went back to the deck.

Lena was smiling.

Winn leaned in and whispered to his boyfriend. “How many months do you give it?”

“Sadly, it won’t happen,” James mumbled back.

Maggie said to her girlfriend, “I bet you by the end of the year, your mom is going to have two lesbian daughters.”

Alex shook her head. Lena was clueless to the two couples conversations. She shivered a bit and the front of her body was all wet now, but deemed it worth it.

**

Arriving at the Luthor house gave a series of gasps. It was the group minus Mon-el, as he agreed to work 10 until close at the bar he worked at.

“That’s one house?” Maggie muttered.

“A king has to live there!” Kara gasped. Winn had his phone out and took pictures as they pulled up.

Taylor looked at Lena who had to sit in the passenger seat. “I don’t see this as a good idea.”

“You know social encounters are vital for mental health.”

“You…are right. But I still don’t like it.” He parked and got out, opening the door for the group. Lena got out and waited while everyone grabbed their bags.

“Do we get a grand tour?” James asked Lena.

“We’ll just be on the first floor. Where the guest rooms and entertainment rooms are. The second level is mainly my father’s study and the bedrooms. Downstairs is the wine cellar.”

“But that will be untouched for today,” Taylor cut in.

“Who is he?” Winn questioned.

“My old nanny and driver.”

“You have a driver?”

“Until she gets her license. Then I’ll be retiring,” Taylor said.

“I’m going to make sure everything is ready. Taylor, do you mind showing them to the den?”

“Not at all.” He smiled at the group as Lena walked off. He led them in and to a large den. It had two couches, a loveseat, and two chairs. The table had drinks and food set up and a television that had numerous consoles.

Kara could see the glee in Winn.

“How does it feel to have dedicated twelve years to her?” Alex asked him.

“The Luthors have been good to me. And Lena’s always been a sweet girl. I…wish things were easier for her.”

“Are you married?” Maggie asked him.

“No. I spent my whole life after college help raising children. Not many men went for it. Saying half of my employers had me living with them.”

“You’re gay.”

“Oh!” He took off his hat. His gray hair was thinning and he smiled a bit. “I guess I let that slip. I’m usually good about it. Guess since it’s just Lena in the home. And you kids.” He looked at his watch. “Well, I will be going. I’ll see you kids in the morning.” He nodded at them and walked out.

“The morning?” James questioned.

“He must check up on Lena,” Alex sighed. She pushed her hair back. “Can I get a spoiled?”

“Spoiled.” Alex tensed up and whipped her head to where Lena stood.

“I…” Alex gestured helplessly.

“It’s okay. I got lucky to be placed in a rich family.” Lena shrugged. “Let me show you guys to your rooms. I paired it up with couples and Kara you get your own room.”

“It’s far away from the couples right?” Kara joked.

“The walls are relatively sound proof. I also ask you guys strip your beds if you’re going to do that. I don’t see it fair to Johanna. Maria's off tomorrow so I'll be whipping up some waffles tomorrow.”

“So you have a maid coming. You had a cook here. You had a driver. Did you set that up?” Winn asked. “You didn’t have to have so many people come.”

“Oh, no my mother had this schedule for them. I just sent them a few messages to say I’m having company and gave them all a bit of a bonus for being discreet.”

“Why can’t you have people over?” Alex asked as Lena started to lead them to the bedrooms.

She stopped midstep. She breathed in and then spoke vaguely. “The same reason why I can’t go to a private school, really.”

“You’re going to have to tell us the story one day,” Maggie said.

“I’m waiting for the right time.” Lena got to the first room. “This is yours and Alex’s room, Maggie. It has a connected bathroom.”

"Sweet." Maggie took their bags in and dropped them onto the bed. “We’ll revisit this later.”

Kara rolled her eyes. The rooms were one after another. Lena showed them the way to her room if they needed her in the night and to the kitchen. Then they settled into the den.

The night went to a switch off the controller and group voting during a game of Until Dawn.

Winn was working alone at quick timed events, leaving the others to chat.

“So how was your day?” Kara asked Maggie.

Maggie looked at James and Lena before speaking up. “I’m going to have to be honest. You know Julian and Brett?”

Lena got up and went to the kitchen to make herself an Alex some more tea.

“Yeah. They’re really good swimmers. Sketchy guys I just sort of act friendly with them. Mon-el and they are a trio of hellion jokers but they do no harm.”

“No harm?” James questioned, leaning forward.

“What’s this about?” Kara looked at the pair.

Winn looked back, pausing the game.

“I was hanging fliers in the E building. I look and see Julian tearing them off the wall. I confront him and they harass me. Mon-el was there and didn’t do shit the help. He held the fliers from me and told me to get lost.” Maggie’s arms were crossed over her chest.

Kara bit her lip and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Did they hurt you?” She sounded leveled.

“James scared them off. Just shook us.”

“Us?”

“Lena was there. I found out her mom is pretty anti-gay. I have a theory that she’s someway queer and…I don’t think that'll help her feel safe around Mon-el. Just warning you I guess.” Maggie shrugged. “I don’t…trust him much. I get not wanting to be involved in it like you are. But to not do shit while his friends throw slurs and ready to do god knows what? It crossed a fucking line.”

Kara shook her head, jaw set. “He didn’t tell me about this,” she whispered. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah. I figured he wouldn’t.”

Winn went back to the game and Lena walked in. She handed Alex a simple black mug.

“Thanks,” Alex said. She looked at her sister.

Kara put on a fake smile. “So James and Winn show you their little fortress?” She asked Lena, knowing they invited her.

“Yeah, it was a cool little hub. I also had no idea Winn could sew.”

“He’s pretty damn good. I’ll have to show you some of the stuff he’s made for me.”

“Oh, you simply have to.” Lena grinned back at her.

“Can we see your room?” Kara looked down at her.

“Oh. Sure." She shifted, looking to the others. 

“You can go on. I’m going to stick to this,” Winn hollered.

“I think I’ll keep watching. You girls go ahead,” James told them. Alex and Maggie looked at Kara from their cuddle bundle.

“Not moving little Danvers,” Maggie said.

“Alright. Buzz kills.” Kara punched James on the arm and got up. Lena and she walked upstairs. Lena's stride was a bit slow, hesitant almost. Kara figured it was because of today. 

“How do you like school besides what happened?”

“It’s almost normal,” Lena said.

Kara looked at a large trophy case as they passed it. She peered in briefly, seeing a mix of Lex and Lena’s awards. A lot academic, some athletic and arts related.

Lena opened the door at the end of the hall.

Kara looked around. The room was large and of course the stylish woman had a walk-in closet. The walls were a bright red and had black trim. There was a large shelf of books and a work bench. Across a desk stacked up with papers and books. The floor had scattered clothes and yet the bed was made, untouched while the places around were lived in. Kara saw a few photos. Lionel and a younger Lena. Lex and Lena working on projects together. There were medals hanging up as well. There were charcoal drawings tacked up. They were of landscapes and blueprint designs.

“I don’t know what to say,” Kara told her. She walked past a vanity, picking up a laid out bottle of foundation she recognized to cost well over sixty dollars. “I usually just used a light bb cream you can get at the drug store. You’re pretty…extra, Miss Luthor.”

“How I was taught to be.” Lena leaned against her desk.

“Why is the bed made but the whole room a mess?”

“Because I didn’t sleep in it last night. I was up at my desk most of the night. Passed out there.” She scratched the back of her neck. “Oh, I have something for you.” She reached under her bed and pulled out a laptop bag. She unzipped it and held up a silver computer that looked brand new.

“That’s your old one?”

Lena paused. She checked through the bag to make sure it had everything. “Uh, yeah. I deleted some files I had. All yours.” She put it back and handed it to Kara.

“Can I say that I love you?” Kara looked down at her, deadpanned. Lena blushed.

“I—well—um…I guess.” Lena looked up at her. Kara chuckled and sat on the bed. Lena sank down next to her.

Kara looked to the half-finished PC a few feet from the work bench. The bench had half assembled robotics. “What are you building?”

“Just a robot that follows the direction of a sensor…It’s for Johanna. It could carry her laundry load and just follow her. The downside…I haven’t figured out how it could climb stairs. I was thinking a tank style all-terrain thing…but it fell and broke into pieces.” She sighed.

“That’s so sweet.” Kara smiled. She leaned back. “Were you expecting me to bring him?”

“I guess. I’m sorry but I’m kind of glad he didn’t come. I know he’s part of the group and I’m the odd man out as the new one but I just can’t shake today.”

“Yeah. Maggie said you seemed a bit stunned.” She frowned. “I didn’t expect it. Guess it’s just Daxam culture, you know?”

Lena hadn’t recalled the identity. “Pardon?”

Kara paled. _Fuck._ “I…”

“Alien?” Lena looked at her.

“Fuck, I…please…”Kara held her hands up. She was prepared to make a run for it.

“I don’t care. Doesn’t affect my views on him.” Lena looked down at the floor.

Kara shrugged and put the computer down. She stood up and looked around the desk. She saw a photo strip of Lena with a boy. “Who’s this?” She grabbed it. She saw they were beaming, close, a kiss on the cheek in one.

“My friend Jack.” Lena took it and placed it back on her wall. Her cheeks were red. “We don’t talk much…”

“That’s a shame.” Kara shifted. “He’s handsome.”

“I suppose. Let’s head back.” They walked down. Lena noticed the time was approaching one.

They entered and Maggie was struggling to stay awake.

“Think this one should turn in,” Alex said to Lena and Kara as they entered.

“I’m fiiine,” Maggie yawned. She leaned into her girlfriend.

“It’s okay. It’s been a long day,” Kara said. Alex nodded and helped her girlfriend up and led her to their guest room.

James and Winn were sat on the floor. James was currently trying to make shots in quick succession. “Fuck! His head!” He dropped the controller and covered his eyes.

“Keep shooting! Oh dammit, there goes our head!” Winn groaned and lied back. “We were supposed to save all of them!”

“Boys,” Lena calmed.

She and Kara sat on the couch. Winn powered down the play station and the couple turned to speak with the two women.

“So what’s going to happen with you and Mon?” James asked Kara.

She hugged to a pillow. “I’m going to talk to that damn Daxamite. Give him one chance,” she sighed.

“Maggie won’t take an apology.”

“I’m very aware of what she’ll do. She wants to break his nose but his nose will break her fist.”

“Is Superman a Daxamite?” Lena asked.

Winn and James looked surprised. “Fuck she knows,” Winn sighed.

“I’m sorry I slipped up! All of you knew,” Kara shouted.

“Hey.” Lena touched her shoulder.

“Just don’t tell those parents of yours,” James said.

“Don’t worry. His secret is safe with me. Probably in better hands than in Kara’s.”

The athlete pouted and rested her head in Lena’s lap. “Don’t be ruuude, Lee!”

“Well is he?”

“No. He’s this thing called a Kryptonian. Daxamites are a weaker version that have a different society basked on old monarchy ideals. Kryptonians were very justice based, and a lot more open. Daxamites believed if your love-making makes a kid, that is the right way to go,” Kara said. Lena wondered silently why she knew. She expected a yes or no, maybe a puzzled "hell if I know." 

Winn shook his head. “I’m going to turn in. James?”

“Let’s go “make a kid.”” James helped his boyfriend up and they bid the girls goodnight before walking down the hall.

Lena absently played with Kara’s hair and looked off. “I’ve missed hanging out with you. You’ve been busy a lot.”

“I know. I’m glad you came tonight. Made me happy.” Kara smiled up at her, adjusting her glasses. “You have a really sharp jaw.” She reached up and traced the line. Lena shivered and took Kara's hands away. The older girl mumbled an apology for her cold hands. 

“It’s manly. My mother said the only reason she lets me wear makeup is to soften that part. Why else would she let me look like a whore?” She smiled bitterly.

“Oh, Lena.” Kara sighed and sat up.

“Sorry. I just make this all so cynical.” Lena crossed her arms.

“You’re a cynical little child. I need to change that.” Kara put a hand on Lena’s head, pushing it down. The younger girl ducked her head, feeling like a kitten.

“Try it.” Lena looked at her. Kara leaned down and rested her head on Lena’s shoulder. Lena could smell the chlorine in her hair, overly pure and strong.

They sat there a moment, quietly fighting off sleep and figuring out what to say. “How much sleep do you get nightly?”

“At most three.” Lena rubbed at her eye. “I haven’t been able to sleep much since my dad collapsed a few months ago. My mom said I shocked him out of remission.”

“Oh my god,” Kara scoffed. She expected to see a grinning Lena at the stupidity of that statement. Instead, she saw a guilty child, so small tucked against Kara. “Hey…you know that’s not true, right?”

“He was mortified when it all happened.”

“What happened? Lena?”  Kara shifted so they were face to face. Lena avoided eye contact. “Hey, we’ve been talking every night. It’s okay to get into some deep stuff. You know you can trust me, right?”

“Yeah…I know.” She frowned. She spoke, voice cracking, “why I feel so bad not telling you why I moved across the country.”

“You can change that. It’s past midnight. No better time than now.”

“I-I…have been an example child since I was four. Made my dad proud and my mother was tolerant.” She leaned into Kara. “I was different like they wanted. And one way they didn’t want.”

“Didn’t want?”

Lena opened her mouth to speak once, twice, faltering. Weak cracks and gasps came instead of an answer. She steadied her breathing before spitting it out. “My attraction to women. Though they didn’t know until a while ago.” She frowned. “Veronica Sinclair…my roommate and worst enemy…and first girlfriend. We met when I was thirteen and it has been a whirlwind since then. I can’t say I fell, more like she pulled me.”

“Okay.” Kara nodded and looked down at her.

“She kissed me one day. Started it all. We’d sneak off campus, and kiss and do stuff.” She smiled and looked down at her lap. “We would hold each other a lot at night…I became accustomed to falling asleep like that and only that.” She swallowed. “But one day, one morning, my parents came to visit me. They came into my room and turned on the light. Just to see their only daughter curled up with another woman…”

“So you were moved away?”

“No. The dean was with them. And sexual relationship in the dorms was an expulsion offense. I took the blame and was expelled. I loved her too much to ruin that society for her. She doesn’t know I did. Just that I left and I have not done any banquets or dinners. I was black balled from private schools. I was moved away so that I couldn’t see her. I wasn’t going to. Lillian threatened to get her put in jail. She was sixteen and I was fifteen. We never had sex…most we got to was taking our shirts off and heavy petting.”

Kara looked down. It was…too much for a kid. Her life read like a halfway decent soap opera.

“I’m sorry to hear that. People shouldn’t be treated like that for who they loved.”

“I didn’t think it was something outside rich society. I guess I really am an isolated rich kid.”

Kara shut her eyes, something within her snapping. “You’re so much more than that, Lena.” She hugged her close. “Is that why going up to my room scared you? Were you afraid I’d take advantage of you?”

“N-no…I trusted you from day one, Kara. Women just sort of scare me now. Maggie by herself terrified me with her aura. But I could handle her with Alex or anyone else. One on one  with women my age..."Lena felt her cheeks heat up.

“I see. That's okay that you feel that. Not okay why...having fear struck into your heart.” Kara adjusted her glasses. “I should go to bed.”

“We both should.” Lena yawned.

“You especially. If I leave you, will you actually sleep?” She got no confirmation. “That’s it.” She picked up Lena, moving slowly to give her a chance to say no.

Lena just surrendered.  She hugged her friend. “You’re so fucking strong.”

“I eat meat.” Kara went to the guest room and put Lena in the bed. She climbed in next to her. She made a little pillow border and pulled the comforter to her chin, covering Lena’s whole body.

“You fucker,” Lena muttered. Kara chuckled and flipped a corner away. Green eyes shone like a feline’s thanks to the faint moonlight coming through the open window.

“G’night Lena.”

“Night…”Lena yawned and curled up in the fetal position. Kara smiled and turned away, putting her glasses on the nightstand on her side along with her phone. She ignored the buzzing of texts and missed calls. She took off her ring, attuning herself to be ready to hear Lena stirring awake. She had decreed herself Lena’s honorary caregiver until the girl adopted healthy habits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my original idea for this. Lena's a lesbian too good for this world.


	6. Unwanted Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning comes and an unwanted visitor arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh I was so happy to do this.

Kara woke up as she heard stirring. She turned over, having stayed faced away from the other side of the bed all night. She was surprised Lena had allowed them to share a bed after being afraid just to be alone on a bed.

She guessed the girl was so tired and missed a presence on the other side of the bed that she couldn’t oppose it.

Lena was sat up and slipping her slippers back on. She felt eyes on her and looked down at Kara. “Hey,” she whispered. Her cheeks were a bit pink as if they hadn’t slept a wink.

Kara smiled at her and snuggled under the warm duvet. “Hi. How’d you sleep?”

“Best sleep I’ve gotten in months…”Lena smiled back at her. “Thanks.  I…felt better after finally telling someone. I think I can tell the others now.”

“Good. Because we’re all here for you, and will always be there until you decide we’re too commoner for you.” She grinned and propped herself up on an elbow.

“Ouch. That was low.” Lena put a hand over her heart and slumped back down. Kara chuckled lightly.

“Go make me some waffles! I need calories!” She sat up and looked at her phone. She saw fifteen texts and five missed calls all from Mon-el. “Oh…”

“What is it?” Lena got out of bed.

“Uh, nothing. Just a bunch of social media notifications. Shocked by it I guess.” She faked a smile.

Lena nodded at her as she tried to tame her frizzy hair. Kara always noticed how soft it looked. She wanted to run her fingers through it. She had done it once and it felt similar to one running their hand through flour with how smoothly her fingers passed the strands. Though now it looked like a hot mess.

 “Come on,” Lena said.  She walked out, motioning for Kara to follow.

Kara stayed on the bed, needing to get her ring and glasses on. She slipped her glasses on and looked down, looking through her notifications while ignoring Mon-el’s texts and calls. She saw Mon-el had left a few messages on Instagram and Twitter for her, all focused on why she was ignoring him and what did he do wrong. He asked where she was and that he would come to her. She realized now she left her location turned on within Twitter and had posted a picture last night of Winn and James playing on the console.

She heard a screaming from the kitchen. It didn’t take her super hearing to do it. The scream made her blood ran cold and was enough to force her from under the covers. Kara ran out, leaving her ring behind. The shout had sent Alex and James out of their rooms, Maggie, and Winn not far behind. Three out of the four had boxers and a t-shirt. Winn wore Star Wars PJ pants along with a black tank top that was James’ underclothes.

James’ brow was scrunched up as he took the first step. Alex shoved him aside and went up to Kara.

“That was Lena,” Kara whispered. They rushed to the kitchen, bare and socked feet hitting the cold tiles.

They all saw Mon-el standing with a hand to Lena’s mouth and whispering for her to not scream.

“What the fuck!” Kara shouted. She yanked him away from Lena, stepping between them. “How? Why—what is wrong with you!”

“I saw this is where you were…it wasn’t hard to get in.” He was sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck as if he was a schoolboy who was caught with a cigarette.

“What did you break?” Alex asked cautiously. Lena was quiet and touching her neck.

“Nothing, earth tech isn’t hard to disable.” He shrugged. 

The young heiress finally was able to choke out. “You broke into my home!” Lena started to hyperventilate.

Kara turned to her and grasped her shoulders, very conscious of how hard she was gripping. “Lena, slow down.” She heard weak gasps and took a moment to realize. “Alex, take her up to her room. H-her inhaler is in her backpack! Go, go, go, go.” She guided Lena to Alex, the redhead taking over and leading Lena upstairs, mumbling calming words and rubbing soothing circles between her shoulder blades.

Kara looked at her significant other. He stood there, examining his hand. “She bit me.”

“I’m about to do worse if you don’t leave right now,” she said sullenly. She stepped up to him. Her temple was pulsing and her hands trembled. She curled them into fists to keep them steady “I swear if she ends up in the hospital because of you, you bastard…”

“What’s with this third degree suddenly? What the hell did I do?” He looked hurt. Like she had done him wrong. Like she was at fault for Lena’s episode. That she was the passive asshole.

She set her jaw. She heard something shattered. “That’s the problem! You didn’t do a damn thing. You let those assholes harass Maggie. You don’t have to think its right but there is nothing right about letting harassment go on! You’re part of this group. We care for each other. You were passive. You just broke into a house. You’re on parole you dumbass! You’re an alien and you broke into Lillian Luthor’s, an anti-alien rep, house and scared the shit out of her pubescent daughter! You triggered an episode in an asthmatic person. You’re crazy!" She held her fists up, shaking in anger. Her teeth were bared briefly before she shouted. "You tracked me down! That’s sick. You’re manipulative. You’re trying to make me feel like shit!”

She looked ready to snap his neck. Maggie, James, and Winn were honestly too afraid to say anything.

“I don’t care about any of that,” he said. “I care about you. I love you…”He went to take her hand. She swatted him away. He winced, looking alarmed. He was used to her being normal. Easy to nudge around unless they were being intimate.

“You don’t care!” Kara shouted. “You don’t care about them.”

“I didn’t say that…”He hesitated.

She looked aside. “It’s over, Mon-el. You’ve crossed a line.” She scoffed. “But there wasn’t a fucking line with you! You just did things by your own accord! You don’t care. I can’t have someone like that in my life. I can’t love someone like that.”

“Kara…”He went to grab her, ignoring her closed off body language.

She moved in and threw a hook. He whipped his head back and collapsed like a sack of potatoes. She felt no pain, just a throbbing in her temples as adrenaline ran through her blood. A rush that was missed. “Don’t touch me.”

“You broke my nose!” He cried in shock. She stood over him.

She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him to his feet with one hand. “I’ll break more if you do shit like this again. Get out of here! Stay away from me, stay away from my family. Stay away from my friends!” She kicked him in the back to send him falling over the stoop.

She slammed the door shut and looked at the three who stood behind her.

“That…was a one-eighty,” Winn said.

Kara shook her head and ran upstairs. She stopped and grabbed her ring. She shoved it onto her finger and went to Lena’s room.

She knocked before walking in. Alex was knelt before the younger girl, asking over and over if she was okay. Lena had her red inhaler held in her fist and was breathing mostly normal.

“It was minor…anxiety,” Lena explained. She looked up at Kara. “Is he gone?”

“Uh, yeah.” Kara rubbed at her knuckles. “Alex, get the others ready to go. Can you wipe the cameras?”

“I got those that mattered off. The electric magnetic locks were all I had on. He disabled them. I just told my mom it was a shortage. She’s suspicious, but I’ll deal with it…”She looked at Kara. “How’d you get him to leave?”

“I’m not that average. Took him by surprise and got a decent left hook in. Powerlifter,” Kara whipped up, having prepared a small spiel as she came upstairs. She pushed her hair back and sat next to Lena.

“I see.” She leaned into Kara. Kara rested her head on hers.

 “Sucks that we won’t have waffles now.”

“I’ll ask Taylor to bring some coffee and muffins from Noonan’s.”

“Oh, that’s the good shit! I grab their cinnamon buns once a week,” Kara erupted, grinning like a fool.

“Yeah, I’ve been going there a bit. James and I got tea there a few times.”

“I’m surprised how you and James are getting along.”

“He’s trying to get past Lex because Winn and I are bonding.” Lena shrugged. She shook her inhaler, feeling another wave of shortness. She pushed down and took a deep breath. She relaxed.

“Do we need to take you to the doctor’s?”

“No. It’s small. He was squeezing my nose and I was panicking…”

“Fucker,” Kara muttered and put a protective arm around Lena. She still watched how tight she held her.

“You guys should go. I’m sure my mother has sent Lex to check up on me and turn the system back on.”

Kara swallowed; too shy to say she didn’t want to leave. She got up slowly and walked out. She looked at her phone and saw a text from Mon-el. She silently noted to ask Eliza if she could change numbers.

She packed up her duffel and made the bed she slept in. She took her ring off and tossed it in her bag, saying fuck it.

She came down and Taylor had already gotten there with pastries and coffees.

“You missed an amazing thing,” Winn said to Lena. “It was like watching Bruce Lee fucking up Chuck Norris after being knocked around.”

“There’s nothing to be proud of considering violence,” Taylor said. He paused to take a sip of coffee. “But well done, young woman.”

Kara smiled sheepishly. “Had to do it.” She grabbed a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee. “So you told him?”

“Had to do it,” James echoed. He looked at his boyfriend who was enjoying a poppy seed muffin way too much. “Hungry?” He gave a ‘you made me hungry’ look before grabbing a second one. James chuckled softly and looked at Taylor. “So you’re not going to rat on us?” He asked.

Taylor shook his head and sipped his coffee. He looked at Lena. “I’m going to load their bags into the car.”

“Thanks,” Lena said. She smiled at him. He walked towards the guest rooms.

Kara looked at the younger girl. “You should tell them what you told me yesterday.”

Lena sighed and sipped her coffee. “I’m probably obvious…but I’m gay. I’m at a public school for that reason. I was sleeping with a girl, not like that, in the dorms so they had all the right to fire me. So…”Lena nervously tapped her nails against the ceramic cup.

“It was so fucking obvious!” Maggie howled. She chuckled as the other three just grinned knowingly. Winn patted Lena on the back. “Why did you say you weren’t gay?”

“I-I said I wasn’t dating women. I’m not…”Lena swallowed. “I risk losing my inheritance and right to Luthorcorp if I date a woman. I have to wait. You won’t see me dating girls. Actually, if you have any guys interested, tell me.”

Everyone was quiet. Kara looked at her friend, not knowing that other part. She felt her heart sink into her stomach.

“You’re going to do that for money?” Alex asked, a brow raised.

"Not exactly." She sighed and her shoulders sank. “I have nothing if I get cut away. I have no family but Lillian, Lex, and Lionel. I don’t know my birth family, if they cut me away so will any of their family.”

Taylor came back. “Let’s get you all home,” he announced. The group got up, taking their coffees.

“Thanks for hosting,” James said, hugging Lena with an arm. Winn wrapped her up in a tight hug.

Maggie and Alex trapped Lena in their arms. “I hope this changes for you, my little budding lesbian,” Maggie chuckled. She kissed Lena’s cheek, leaving the younger girl flustered.

Alex put an arm around her girlfriend’s waist and left with the other couple.

Kara looked at Lena. “I’m sorry you have to go back in the closet.”

“I’m not. Everyone knows. We just don’t acknowledge it outside of passive-aggressive remarks.” Lena shrugged and looked at the tiled floor. She gasped when Kara lunged and hugged her close.

“This morning has been a disaster. I liked last night…”She mumbled into Lena’s hair, frizzy and not yet tamed. It smelled like coconuts from her shampoo. She stepped away and looked at the still blushing Lena. “She’ll tease you about it.”

“I’m ready,” Lena sighed. She smoothed her hair with her hands.

Kara smiled softly. She adjusted her glasses and exited the house.

Lena went to a kitchen cabinet, turning all the cameras and microphones back on. She checked her phone. 

**_Lex: I'm picking you up tonight so you can see dad._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena is a poor little lesbian 2k17. But she does get a girlfriend.


	7. Six Days To Lose it All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been trying to get back to my stories.

Lena rubbed her palms against her skirt and watched the city pass by her slowly. She heard Lex sprinkling curses and rubbing at his thinning black hair. “We could do with like a billion fewer people,” he said lightly.

“Stop showering and you’ll see a new plague in no time.” She pulled out her phone as he chuckled.

“So how’s public school?” He changed his tone at the last two words.

“Decently challenging,” she told him.

“I still think you should’ve taken MIT offers.”

“I want to have a normal academic experience once in my life,” she shrugged. He scoffed and took a left.

“We’re Luthors! There is no normal.” He smiled softly. “I want you working as an intern. I think it’ll be good practice when we own the company together.” He looked down at her after he had to stop at a light.

She smiled slightly. “And find a cure?”

“To our infestation maybe.” He looked at the light again. He drove off, unable to see her frown.

“Cancer can be cured in our lifetime, Lex. It can be us.” She saw him smirk.

“I know. You have the ability.” He pulled into a back entrance to the parking lot, avoiding the press. They hadn’t been the most sympathetic during Lionel’s last days. Lena was lucky no one had tried to get to her now that she was within a public and not as guarded school.

“You have the resources.” Lena tucked her phone into her cardigan’s pocket. It was a brownish yellow one Kara left behind. It was big on her, but didn’t look bad. Made her just look smaller, younger.

Lex put his hand between her shoulders, walking along and up to the elevator. He clicked on the worn down black button. He looked at his watch, mumbling about visiting hours and when security locks up his office. She knew he was likely just here to dump her off and not to really see Lionel.

She was honestly shocked Lillian was around him so much.

Lex led her to the hospice wing. The air was filled with a mutual dread and everyone she passed had the blank look that said “I’m not ready for this.”

She pulled her cardigan closer to her. She Lex pulled the simple curtain that gave privacy as the door was mostly a glass panel.

She stepped into the sterile smelling room. Lillian was sat at Lionel’s bedside, holding his veiny and pale hand in hers.

Lena gasped quietly in seeing him so gaunt and weak. His once longer hair shed away and dark eyes cloudy.

It was a matter of days or weeks she knew. “Daddy…”She whispered, weak. She moved to his other side. He turned his head, looking at her and smiling.

“My little one,” he whispered. He reached up and touched her cheek, his fingers cold. She put her hand to his and smiled.

“We’ll leave you two,” Lex said, moving to his mother’s side. Lillian stood up and left with him.

Lena looked down, not wanting to be alone. “Tell me about your first month,” Lionel said.

“That’s what you want to talk about?”

“I’ve talked enough about dying. I want to hear about someone living their life and near prime.” He smiled.

“I met some good people…care and protect me.” She looked down at him. “You’d like one especially. My friend Winn is a tech nerd and has a lot of talent.”

“I see the smile forming. Is he just a friend?”

“He’s dating this guy named James.” She looked down at her lap.

He coughed before speaking. “Is James a friend of yours as well?” She smiled a bit. “What’s that smile for?”

“You just moved along.” She frowned and put her thumb to her lips. “Things haven’t been the best at home with mom…”

“I know.” He sighed. “Lena, I’m a failure that you wrongly see as a hero.”

“W-what?” Her voice cracked and she leaned forward, hunching.

“I’ve let her win over and over. Let her hurt you…I’m sorry.” He tried to yank at the breathing tubes set up, so he could talk to her normally. It was a feckless effort. He sighed and shook his head.

“You’ll be gone.” She said it suddenly. He didn’t have the chance to express shock or guilt.

“My reach isn’t dying with me.” He smiled softly and took her hand, not telling the whole truth and still hoping it was enough. “It’s all worked out.”

“I feel like I’m letting you down.” She hadn’t felt so small with him for years. Usually Lillian was the parent reducing her to being contracted, wanting to block out everything.

“You…make me worry. That things you can do will be lost on you.” He looked at her. “My child, there’s so much you need to learn.”

“What exactly is that?” She grimaced.

“You’ll never be normal in this family. Too brilliant, too prepared, too…known. The public will not let you be normal.” She just nodded along, chewing at the inside of her mouth. “I knew that would be your life when you were just a four-year-old.”

She sighed. “I don’t know how to feel. Seeing you like this.” She knew he didn’t want her to. She was surprised she was allowed to.

They were quiet as Lex and Lillian came back in.

Lex handed Lena a cup of tea and sat back in the corner. He adjusted his suit jacket and pulled out his phone.

“How’s the business?” Lionel questioned.

“Don’t concern yourself with that, darling,” Lillian told him, taking his hand that had the IV needle within it.

The few days passed, doctors coming in to ensure he had a good amount of pain killers, nurses shooing reporters from the entrance as they tried for any glimpse and then muttering on how inappropriate it was. Lena had been brought from school right to Lionel’s side every day.

Day six, Lena held his other hand. The room was quiet besides his ever slowing vitals. A deafening beeping and doctors not going through the motions all due to the red band on Lionel’s wrist to indicate he didn’t want them to try to resituate him.

Lena was left stunned, staring as they covered him and disconnected him. Lex got her up. “Let’s take you home.” He drove her back before saying he had a flight to catch. He gave her some money for dinner even though he knew she probably had plenty on her. He gave a grimace as she searched for sadness.

Lena sat at the kitchen table. Maria made her a cup of tea and tried to get her to speak.

She finally spoke up after looking at the clock. “I’m going for a drive. And my mother’s not going to be home for a while. You can go.”

“I’ll tell Taylor—“

“No. I’m just stayong on the land,” she lied. She grabbed her bag and her keys. She got into one of the cars and drove off. She looked at the time and thought to herself.

She drove off the land and on her way towards the school.

* * *

 

Kara looked through the news articles on her phone, drowning out the closing of locker doors around her after her swim practice. It was sufficed to say awkward to be awkward around Mon-el. He would stare at her on deck and reached for a board as she was.

She sighed as a new article came up when she refreshed.

**Lionel Luthor, Founder of Lexcorp, dies at age 62.**

She found another article written by Clark Kent. She swallowed a bit as she saw the title of Kal’s article: **_No One Mourns the Wicked_**

  _Lionel Luthor, the creator of the infamous Lexcorp and its CEO, Lex Luthor, has passed away to his pancreatic cancer._

 

_Hearts go to the family as their two children part-take in a fall from grace one could only describe as self-entitled rich child rebellion. An explosion of Lena Luthor and the recent million dollar loss on the Las Vegas strip by Lex Luthor._

She saw a picture of the two kids _. Captioned, “surviving children of Lionel. Lena (15, adopted) Lex (27, biological)_

It was Lex and Lena getting out of a silver Porsche that belonged to Lex. Lena looked like a stone cold bitch in the angle. Her eyes were covered and she wore a coat with a flipped collar and purse over her shoulder.

Kara knew that was the intention even if she knew that Lena was likely breaking on the inside.

_The future of the company is up in the air as the Luthor estate has no published will as of now. What Lionel’s last moments are unknown as no Luthor has spoken on it. Lex has already returned to business, boarding a flight to Japan only an hour after Lionel was declared legally dead._

Kara put down her phone. She frowned and finished getting ready. She walked outside, taking a back entrance to avoid the main hall where teammates chatted until their ride came or the coach kicked them out.

The coach was the principle. She was strict and Kara was her favorite and worst enemy at the same time.

Kara had broken the records Cat Grant set when she went in the eighties.

She was halfway out the door when her phone rang. She saw the three L’s and picked up.

“Lena!” Kara cheered. She made her way up the side street that took her to the well-lit main.

“Hey…” The younger girl’s voice shook. “You free?”

“Yeah. I’m just leaving swim practice.”

“Okay. Stand out front and I’ll be there.”

“Got it.” There was a pause. “I’m sorry by the way.” The line went dead. Kara circled around as a car she did not quite recognize pulled up.

Friday night past ten. The tinted passenger’s window came down. Lena was in the driver’s seat.

“Let me drive,” Kara said. Lena quietly got out and sat in the passenger seat. Kara threw her bag in the back and got in the driver’s seat. She looked at the neat leather dash. She put her seatbelt on and drove off. “When’s the funeral?”

“Wednesday.”

“Want to stay at my place?” Kara stopped at a light.

“My mom is staying in a hotel right now and Lex is gone...sure. I have a night bag anyways.”

“Were you going to sleep in this car?” Kara got no response. She drove the mile to her house, pulling the car to the backyard so no one would see it in their driveway. She got out and grabbed hers and Lena’s bag. “You know you’re pretty impulsive for a smart woman.”

Lena just smiled and looked at her phone. Kara put her hand on her thigh. She saw her tense and move away. “Sorry, thought I could reassure you in some way.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Lena sucked in a breath. Kara mentally kicked herself.

“Let’s drive around a bit.” Kara passed her phone to Lena. “Text Alex and have her tell Eliza that I’m just driving around with a friend for a bit and that you’ll be staying.”

“Got it. Your password?”

“Ten twenty thirteen.”

“What happened on that day?” Lena asked as the phone unlocked.

“Danvers adopted me on that day.” Kara passed her house and made her way the country roads. “Do you want to talk about him?”

“He says everything is taken care of. I don’t know what the hell that could even mean.” She scrunched up her brow.

“Did he accept you being gay?”

“He apologized for letting my mother treat me terribly. I know he had no voice by the end. And he started decaying just weeks before the incident. We didn’t see it until after.” Lena swallowed.

“I could go for something sweet,” Kara sighed, changing the subject. “Pull up ice cream parlors.”

Lena checked her phone. “Only one’s open in the area. Oh! They have coconut milk ice cream.” She perked up a bit. Kara knew that was her weakness. That and chocolate cake made with coconut oil. The girl just loved the flavor as an additive but also hated coconut water with a passion.

Kara knew her likes and dislikes by heart at this point. She could tell someone Lena’s coffee order, know what she would pick off a rack of clothes, her point of view on an article; just bits of her Kara couldn’t help but pick out and keep close.

Kara stopped by an ice cream shop that was luckily still open. She went inside and got herself a mint chocolate cone and Lena a vegan chocolate milkshake. They sat in silence in the car until Lena’s phone chimed.

She looked at the screen. “Who is it?” Kara asked.

“It’s been a bunch of my old classmates doing the mandatory “sorry your dad died” message.

“Veronica one of them?” Kara looked down at her.

“She’s actually flying in with her father for the funeral.” Lena sipped her drink. Kara finished up her cone and started the car back up by clicking the button on the dash.

“Ouch.”

“She’s my kryptonite.” Lena sighed.

Kara got home. When they arrived the lights inside the house were still fully on. Kara noticed there was a sedan parked with a differing state’s plate.

“Rental,” Lena told her before Kara could express her puzzlement.

“Wonder who’s visiting.” Kara turned off the car and passed the keys to Lena before they got out. They walked inside.

Kara wasn’t prepared to see who sat in the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Supercorp Firsts should be updated soon. If anyone reads my other stories. Anyways thanks for reading anything I've written! And especially if you leave kudos, comments or even subscribe.


	8. We're Not Normal Darling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting home didn't make the ordeal any easier for Lena until Kara gets her alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This season three shit has me shooketh.

 

There sat a young and muscular man with his dark hair slicked down and away from his face. His glasses were a shiny fiberglass. His clothes were a bit crumpled to show he hadn’t gotten to change in more than a day and he had a five o’clock shadow. He had the same blue eyes as Kara.

 

Kara looked at Clark Kent, sat across from Eliza. He had a coffee cup in his hand. “—she’s been setting records left and right,” Eliza was speaking. He was looking through a scrapbook, small smile on his face.

 

He looked up as she entered the living room. He had a bright smile as he saw his kid cousin. A wave of glee got him up.

 

Kara herself felt it too. She dropped her duffel and ran to him as he stood. “Clark!” She jumped into his arms. He had barely the time to put down his coffee. Lena was surprised to see he was able to stay upright with such force coming at him.

 

“Kara!” He swept her off her feet. He chuckled. “I got told to come up here. I had to see my little cousin.” He kissed her cheek and put her down. They were grinning like fools. “How have you been?”

 

“Good. I brought a friend over to spend the night…”She looked back to the doorway. He dropped his smile as he saw the other girl who had walked through the door. The green eyes that locked onto his had hardened ever so little since he last saw them at a function.

 

“Lena! You’re back,” Eliza said. She stood up from her spot on the couch.

Kara shifted awkwardly. “Oh, um, Clark…you know Lena Luthor. She’s in a few of my classes.” She crossed her arms.

 

“Yes, we know each other,” Lena said.

 

“We keep meeting.” He looked at Eliza, silently expressing his anger that a Luthor had been allowed around Kara. 

 

Lena looked down. “No One Mourns the Wicked. Nice title, Kent. You want an interview to make the article even better?” She put a hand on her hip and was sporting her classic bitch face Kara had seen sported only during class discussion and around Mon-el.

 

He swallowed. “Look, Lena, it was nothing against you.” He sat down again. “So you and Kara are friends?” He rubbed his palms over his knees, drying them.

 

“The best of,” Kara said. She smiled a bit. Eliza spoke up again after sharing a brief look with Clark.

 

“Lena darling, how about I get you a cup of tea?” She tried to cut through the tension.

 

“Be perfect. Thank you.” Lena smiled kindly. She went to put her bag in Kara’s room.

Kara kept a smile on until she was out of the living room. She turned to her cousin and slapped his shoulder. “No one mourns the wicked!” She glared at him.

 

“Kara, it is just journalism. Nothing personal.” He stayed stoic as he thought of the sweater Lois and he got for Kara a few years ago was being worn by Lena Luthor. It was a bit crumpled and he could smell the sterilizer on her as she had spent all her free time in a hospital. Though only he could notice it as Kara always wore that dreaded ring Jeremiah gave her. He was personally against it.

 

How did the woman get a hold on the sweater?

 

“That was the definition of personal!” She growled. “She’s a teenager. Leave your feud with Lex Luthor out of this. Leave a dead man out of it. He was suffering! Lena was suffering. She just spent six days by his side just to have him be gone!”

 

“Hey, my editor loved that story. Lex isn’t mister nice guy and neither was Lionel. He shut down a factory and took away a hundred jobs over an inflated sense of pride.” He grabbed his coffee from the table and sipped from it. She took it from him. “Hey! You know you do not take any food or beverage from a Kryptonian.”

 

“Leave a teenaged girl with anxiety out it.” She glared at him. “Her rebellion? A picture that portrays her as a cold bitch?” 

 

“Are you saying a girl like that isn’t?” He looked up.

 

She slapped his shoulder. “Yes! She’s witty, funny, and sweet.” He arched a brow.

 

Lena came down. Kara turned and looked at her. She had taken off her face makeup, and there she was looking small again. The sweater too big made her seem younger than she was. Kara just wanted to scoop her up and try to make her laugh. 

 

Clark sipped his coffee and looked at Lena. “So are you going to sue for slander?” 

 

“I won’t. I can’t speak on Lex and my mother’s behalf.” 

 

“You said you’d take questions? Why are you in a public school after leaving a sixty-thousand dollar per year private school?” 

 

“Not your business.” Lena leaned into Kara. The older woman had her ring off, having taken it off to smack Clark’s shoulder and not break a hand. 

.

Eliza came out. She handed Lena a mug. The group went quiet. Lena and Kara sat in the loveseat.

 

“I’m sorry to hear about Lionel, darling,” Eliza said.

 

“I knew it was coming. Just a matter of when ” Lena breathed. Kara took her free hand and she immediately relaxed. Kara seemed calm as well. Clark stayed quiet and bit his lip. 

 

“You can come to us Danvers whenever you need someone. Kara’s not the only friend you have here in this household.”

 

“I know. Thank you.” Lena smiled a bit.

 

Clark put down his empty mug and stared at her. He rubbed at his chin. She looked at him briefly. There was a tension between them that nothing would ever heal it. Not even time. 

 

Lena and Kara went upstairs after Kara made Clark promise to stick around long enough for them to get dinner together during the weekend.

  
Eliza sat back when the girls went upstairs. “How close are they?” Clark looked over at his old friend.

 

“Lena’s been taken into Kara’s little group. Sans Mon-el.”

 

“Thank Rao,” Clark sighed. He put his hand to his forehead.

 

“She spent the night in the Luthor home.” She saw him tense. “I thought you should know more than just her successes.” 

  
“You allowed that?” He looked at her. “Eliza she’s here to keep a low profile; not to become chummy with Lena Luthor.”

 

Eliza furrowed her brow. “Lena’s a good person. She’s all Kara can talk about some nights. Alex and Maggie are sold on her. Even James.”

 

“She’s gotten James on board?” He frowned.

 

“It’s a friendship. Not a cult.” She paused. “And far as I know, Lena doesn’t know.”

 

“Good.” He tuned in outside. He heard the distant sound of police sirens. “Gotta go.” He got up and took off his glasses. 

 

“Be safe.” He nodded at her and ran out. 

* * *

Kara sat on her bed. She took in a deep breath before Lena climbed into her open arms. Kara held her tight as small sobs bubbled out. She went from numb to like a howling animal in pain.

 

Kara didn’t bother to shush her, but rather just held her tight and stroked her hair as the woman’s small body shook with each cry. Kara was secretly amazed how cold and calm she was around Clark. 

 

She wondered how long had she forced such demeanor and if anyone else allowed her to cry like this. She needed to cry like this. 

 

“It hurts. It hurts so much…”She whispered.

 

“I know how you feel,” Kara whispered. Lena looked up at her. “You’ve lost a mother and a father now. So have I.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I was a bit younger than you and it was all at once. It’s scary. But it’s okay. I had Clark and the Danvers. You have the group. You have me.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” Kara wanted to press a kiss to her forehead but was too afraid that would send Lena out of there like a bullet.

 

She just swiped away the tears that had a black vein within them from her mascara.

“Fuck I must look so terrible,” Lena muttered. “I didn’t get all my makeup!” She laughed a bit that mixed with a hiccup as she tried to calm down.

 

“You don’t look as pretty as you usually do.” Kara reached for her nightstand that was also the tiny desk she did homework on. She fumbled around with the container of makeup wipes before it clicked open and she could yank one out. She took it and stroked it over Lena’s cheeks.

 

“I feel like a child,” she mumbled.

 

“You are still one.” Kara looked at the softer makeup-absent and puffy face. 

 

“I can’t be one.” Lena sniffled. “I should’ve just given up being normal and started college.” 

 

“Yes, you can! Lena, you’re not normal.” Kara took her hands into hers. 

 

“Thanks.” Lena grimaced.  

 

Kara backtracked, realizing how terrible her words sounded. “But neither am I! Normal is overrated!” 

 

“It’s different. Maybe I should just go…”She frowned. “I could begin the second semester.” 

 

Kara swallowed, mouth dry. She knew her best act would to be quiet, but instead, she spoke up. She had only selfish reasons to counter, yet she could be so logical. “You’ll feel even more out of water at college than you would at a high school. That’s people in their twenties that could be your peers.” 

 

Lena sighed. “Can we just sit here for a while?” 

 

“Yeah.” Kara held her close. Kara could hear her heartbeat. Slow and steady like the metronome that clicked on and on upon a master conductor’s mantel. Leaving the artist so oddly soothed as their mind tried to unscramble what felt like screaming in their head. 

 

Kara, for once without a ring, felt the world go silent. A luxury as her grip on her senses was not nearly as good as Kal’s. She could hear the chaos miles away and always wanted to help. She could focus and find Alex’s heartbeat if she wanted to. 

 

But if not in focus, there is simply screaming. Not notes to undo and place somewhere on five lines. The world blurred and she could hear the blood rushing in those around her. The Chaos. She could tell the boy she was tasked to protect was out there as a man, protecting those around him. 

 

Lena tapped her cheek as she had zoned out, focused only on that ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum…

 

“Mm?” She looked at Lena. 

 

“Can you tell me about your family? I know nothing outside the Danvers.” 

 

Kara sighed as Lena climbed from her hold. She felt cold, fingers itching to hold the girl to her again. It was just her craving for affection she knew. She had wanted to be held by James and Maggie and the others lots of different times. “My mother was...a lawyer of sorts. My dad was a scientist that worked with the government. Brilliant man. Both were. Could’ve changed the world.” 

 

“What were their names?” Lena took her hand. Kara smiled a bit fondly. 

 

“Alura and Zor-el.” Kara sucked in a breath. “I lost them in that meteorite incident in twenty thirteen that injured thousands.” 

 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lena whispered. She hugged Kara from behind, getting on her knees. Kara put her hands on Lena’s forearms. Her whole body relaxed. She tried so hard to focus on that heartbeat pressed against her back. It was a bit faster. Lena worried for her she could so tell. Watching wordlessly as the woman wilted.

 

Eliza had figured a story for Kara. Lost her parents at thirteen. She was in the states when it happened, visiting Clark. He knew he was unable to take care of her so a family friend took her on. She went by their last name from then on. 

 

Lena didn’t press for that story. She saw Kara was visibly distraught and mumbled apologies. “I shouldn’t have asked.”  

 

“No. I never talk about this...I should talk about this.” She sucked in a breath. “And you get it.” 

 

Lena shrugged and sat back. She moved back to next to Kara. “It seems like everyone in your group has lost someone. James his dad, Winn both parents, Alex lost her father...you lost him and your birth parents. Maggie lost her grandmother.” 

 

“She told you about her?” Kara looked at her. “That’s...a really good sign.” She smiled slightly, looking ahead. “I want the group to like you.” Lena was glad she wasn’t looking as heat ran up her neck and to her cheeks. She fought a smile. “I can see that smile!”

 

“I do not smile!” Lena covered her face with her sleeves. 

 

“Don’t get mascara on my sweater.” Kara pried her arms away and they stared at each other. 

 

Lena started to move away and Kara allowed it. “So...sleeping arrangements?” 

 

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Kara mumbled. She stopped Lena from opposing

 

The two got ready for bed, Kara laying out a sleeping bag and pillows for herself. She shut off the lights as Lena settled into her bed.

 

Kara sank into her sleeping bag and took off her glasses. She shut her eyes, trying to block the world around her out. She focused on that slow beating just a few feet away. She could see Lena was dozing, too exhausted for anything to prevent it. 

 

Kara curled up and checked her phone. 

 

Winn had messaged her. 

 

**_For the Winn: It’s done. I’ll see you tomorrow_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long time to update. Life has been pretty crazy irl.


	9. All I Want is This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara for the first time in her time on earth feels like herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't put this up. I swear I plan on writing this. I just hit a blip due to work and school. I didn't mean to leave a cliffhanger and then go a month without posting

Kara strolled into Winn’s little workshop before classes started. He was sitting at his small command center. He turned around when the door opened.

 

“Hey.” He stood up. “You sure about this?”

 

She nodded, dropping her bag down. She unbuttoned her blouse. He shifted uncomfortably and grabbed a key from around his neck. He walked to the cabinet that held his swaths of fabric and sewing machine.

 

She slipped off her jeans after kicking off her shoes. He came over holding a white box that he handed to her.

 

“No one else knows? Not even James?”

 

He swallowed. “Not even James.” He looked down. “I can tell him soon? I don’t like keeping secrets from him.” He kept his eyes on hers. He knew the old him would’ve been so tempted to skate across her body.

 

But things had changed. He leaned back, resting on an empty table as she changed into the outfit in the box. He watched the blue material slide on like a second skin.

 

“I’m sure he’ll figure it out once I’m out there. Those who know me fully will get it in seconds.”

 

“You think you’ll be scrutinized by Lex Luthor too?”

 

“I’m not going to think about that.”

 

The blue material stretched over her muscular arms. She ran her fingers along the red stitching within it. A bit of movement ruffled the red pleated skirt she had on. She rubbed its material between her fingers.

 

He wanted to say something on the subject, mention Lena, but something made him falter and his throat goes dry.

 

She smiled and ran her fingers over the house of El seal he placed on her chest per her request.

 

He honestly thought it to be the first moment of complete joy he had seen Kara in. It kept him from saying anything to damper her mood. Because how dare he rob her of this moment.

 

“My family crest—I haven’t worn it since I came here.” Her fingers traced the s pattern.

 

“That’s what it is?” He arched a brow, having thought it to be for “Super.” She smiled and nodded.

 

“Better together. Hope. It had...a lot of value to us. All of love and unity. Seeing Kal go it alone with it made me afraid and trapped.” She looked at him. He seemed to snap out of trance

 

“One more thing…”He clipped her cape on. He stepped back and smiled at her. “What do you think?”

 

She undid her bun and took off her glasses. She walked to the smudged up mirror he had in the room. She stared at herself, fists on her hips and shoulders back. She smirked at herself.

 

“It’s perfect.” She looked at him. “You did so great!” She hugged him, careful to not harm him with her excitement.

 

He grunted and held her tight. “I’m still not sure about this…”She let him go and he sank down at his command center. “I’m still working on it, but I’m almost in so that you could get notified come crimes. Just enter the NCPD system.”

 

“Is that legal?”

 

“Not in the slightest.” He smiled slightly with a closed mouth and raised his brows as he shrugged.

 

She put her clothes on over her outfit. She braided her hair from the temples back to the nape and put her fake frames on.

 

Winn held up a small earpiece. “You’ll get an AI voice in your ear whenever I send a transcript to this. That’ll hold an eight-hour charge so watch out.” He held up the cube it had to be attached to.

 

“Got it.” She took it and slipped it into her left ear. She dropped the charger in her bag.

 

“So the funeral’s today?” Winn asked. She looked over at him.

 

“Oh...yeah…”Kara sighed. She had wanted to go and be supportive of Lena, but the younger girl was against it. She said her mother wouldn’t allow such things and she couldn’t afford to be forbidden to see the group.

 

Kara still wanted to go, but reluctantly listened to her wishes. The first bell went and Kara and Winn hiked up to Dr. G’s classroom.

 

The teacher looked at them. “Where’s your little buddy there Kara?”

 

“Funeral.”

 

She nodded silently. “Will you see her before tomorrow?”

 

“No...at least I don’t think so.” Dr. G nodded again after Kara spoke, gave the pair their work, and sent them to their seat.

 

Kara worked and zoned her ear to the city. She had to in order to ignore the incessant clicking of pens and the way too frequent swallowing students were performing as they all silently critiqued each other.

 

She heard the familiar heartbeat. She had figured out recently she could pick a loved one’s heart from the noise of the world. Their voice as well can go from there.

 

“...I’m not seeing anyone,” Lena said to whoever that spoke to her. Kara looked at her multiple choice paper as it was yanked off her desk. She looked up at Dr. G. The tanned and wrinkled face folded as she frowned at the paper.

 

“You have none of these done.” She looked at her.

 

“Sorry,” Kara mumbled sheepishly, fiddling with her pen. She had an excuse on the tip of her tongue but Dr. G wouldn’t hear it.

 

“See me after class. Don’t worry, you’ll get a pass.” Dr. G collected the papers. She moved on to discussing their essays and reading examples.

 

Kara could see Winn’s cheeks redden as he realized she was reading his essay. He looked at his watch. He then looked over at Kara. He swiped over the face.

 

Kara almost jumped when the robotic voice went off in her ear. _“Robbery undergo West fifteenth at National Bank. Three suspects all armed with automatic weapons.”_

 

Kara exhaled. She was able to get excused and ran to the roof. She stripped to her new uniform and stepped off the edge. She couldn’t breathe until she caught, body whipping upwards as her recollection of flight came.

 

She dashed off, arriving in moments. The three perps strolled out with cloth bags and their weapons.

 

“Hey boys!” She called as she landed. They looked confused.

 

“Did Superman have a sex change?” One uttered. He wore a Ronald Reagan mask. The one next to him, the one adorned in a Nixon mask, held up his gun and let it rattle off bullets.

 

Kara stood there tall. It was as if someone was poking her. It wasn’t painful but rather mildly annoying. She approached slowly, grabbing the weapon and then flipping the man onto his back.

 

“We can repeat this or you can drop the bags and lay on your back,” she said calmly. The other flanking Reagan, Clinton, fired at her as though his results could differ. She grabbed the weapon from him as if he were a toddler and it a toy. She dropped it behind her and looked at Reagan. He dropped his. Clinton and Reagan dropped their bags and laid down on their stomachs with their hands behind their heads.

 

She watched over them until police cars rolled over. They came out, guns waving until it processed. They stared at her, mouths agape. They slowly lowered their handguns.

 

“Who are you?” One asked.

 

She opened her mouth, but she realized the glaring fact she had no title. She looked around as a group gathered and she cursed quietly. She looked back at the officers. “We’ll be in touch,” she said simply. She smirked and flashed a small wink before flying off.

 

She strolled back into Dr. G’s minutes later, looking at her watch. The period was about to end and the teacher stared her down as she strolled in.

 

“You fall in there, Danvers?”

 

“Sorry,” Kara mumbled and sank down next to Winn.

He smiled slightly at her. “You good?”

She nodded and smiled back. She packed up as the bell rang. She slowly went to the Dr. G’s desk. Winn went outside, waiting.

Dr. G stared at Kara as she came to the desk. “You’re slipping Kara. Tell me, why?”

“I…um…”She swallowed. “I’m just worried about Lena. I’m sorry.”

“You know you get very invested in other people. That Mon boy that failed my class was your explanation a few weeks ago.” She looked at Kara, brow arched. “Now it’s Lena. I’m not trying to be rude when I say they aren’t the ones being graded for this.” She clicked her pen and stared her down. “You are. Think of you when you’re in this class because you’re the one trying to pass this course and the test, you’re the one to get that full-ride, you’re the one trying to land that reporter job. Get it?” Kara was quiet. “Shake head yes or no.” Kara quickly nodded. “Good.” Dr. G sighed and she wrote Kara’s name on the packet. She tucked it away. “You have a free period?”

“Third-period study hall.”

“I’ll see you then. You’re free to go.”

“Thanks,” she whispered and walked out. Winn looked at her. “Yes, I’m okay.”

“Good because check this.” He looked at his phone as they walked off. “‘Mystery Girl Bearing Superman’s Classic Crest Stops Robbers’ Getaway.’” He looked at her. “Congratulations mystery girl.”

She smirked. “No way!” She took the phone and saw the headline among others. “”Watch Out For This New Heroine,” “National City’s New Pretty—“I hate that one but oh Rao.”

“I’m proud of you.” He smiled and took his phone back. “I’ll be off.” They entered the hell of the narrow stairwell.

She was beaming until she got into lunch. She heard people mumbling about it and she smiled to herself. She wondered if she should write a story about it after a few weeks of this new persona.

 

Maggie was staring her down as she sank into her seat at the lunch table.

 

“What?” Kara tore open a granola bar and opened her phone. The bar was swiped. “Hey! You never take food from a Kryptonian.”

 

“Yeah, about that...mystery girl.” Maggie glared at her. “Are you really that stupid?”

 

Kara just stared, too stunned by anger to bite back yet.

 

James sat next to his boyfriend. “Hey.” He kissed Winn’s cheek before joining in ridicule. “What were you thinking Kara?”

 

Kara sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair. She had been able to tame it after it being whipped around by the wind. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.” She was quiet, thinking of the other reactions she’ll get from the few that know.

 

“You do! Kara, you are here to be a simple person,” Maggie whispered. She looked around and crouched down. Teachers circled around the lunch room, listening in and checking to make sure students weren’t out of dress code.

 

Kara set her jaw. “I’m not.” She almost wanted to laugh at how off-base Maggie had become by knowing only Alex was tasked to help Kara adjust to Earth.

 

The trio looked at her. “What?” James leaned down closer to her.

 

She grit her teeth. “I’m not here to be a person. I came here to be this powerful being and to protect Clark. But he didn’t need me. I’m just...here and hidden. I can’t take being a caged bird while the man I’m supposed to keep alive is risking it all for this world. I want this.” She looked at them.

 

James tensed his jaw and shook his head. “Kara, I know you want to help—“

 

“No James. I need to.” She looked at them. “James, please don’t say it. Don’t say how this is risky in this world.” She took a deep breath. “Maggie don’t try it—“The woman looked dumbfounded.  “—I know you. Going to pull the guilt cards like a trick. But you’ll be taking risks like I am. Please, I can help. I’m bulletproof. Think of the lives they won’t have to risk.”

The two seniors were silent. James looked at his boyfriend. “You made the suit I’m guessing. Saying you’re quiet.”

Winn looked at his lap. “I believe it’s the right thing.” He raised his head up and puffed out his chest to hide his fear.

James sighed and kisses Winn’s forehead. He looked at Kara. “Lena talk to you at all today?” He changed the subject but the conversation didn’t exactly feel any lighter.

“Nope. All static. You guys hear anything?” Kara arched a brow.

 

“Nope…my phone is out of minutes and my aunt won’t get me more for another few weeks.” Maggie held up her cracked phone that she broke from rolling down a hill while trespassing on a private beach. “And my account is empty because I helped with rent.” She bit the inside of her cheek.

Kara pulled out her phone. She winced when she saw a missed call from Eliza, two voicemails from Alex, and two missed called, one voicemail and, three texts from Clark.

“Fuck me,” she groaned and escaped through the exit kids snuck through to smoke. The alarm was broken and no cameras on it. She called Clark first. He picked up on the third ring. “Hey what’s up?”

“I don’t know, you tell me Supergirl.”

She smiled a bit. Supergirl. She liked it. “I’m a hero like you.”

“I don’t see how this is good. You’re seventeen.”

“You were nineteen when you started.”

“That’s different.”

She felt something in her snap. A feeling similar to what drove her to punch Mon-el. “How? Kal, this isn’t the life you were supposed to have. This isn’t the one I was supposed to have! You’re supposed to be normal and safe, not me. I’m in the right place.”

She waited for him to scream back about anything. How dare she say that how Alura truly wanted none of this for her nephew and daughter...to have him scream at her would be the best feeling as it gave her no guilt. She could just be stubborn and hang up. That’s how a teenager acted.

He went quiet instead. A pause where she could hear his breathing and then a small sigh. He had folded to her. “Just don’t get killed.”

She frowned a bit. Part of her wanted him to be happy he wasn’t alone out there. But she was young. She knew this had a lot of stupidity to it. But he wasn’t being smart either. Nothing about putting the world before oneself could be considered anything but crazy.

“I won’t.” She hung up as her earpiece started to speak to her about a man on a ledge threatening to jump. She got out of her street clothes and flew off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think and also what little tidbits of supercorp that could happen. Small dates because Kara is a broke teenager, clubs they could join, visiting the same colleges. I honestly feel weird writing a high school story even though I'm in high school? It's odd as hell. 
> 
> Also sorry about the weird spacing I did this only a google doc because I typed literally all of this on my phone when I had free time in class.


	10. After Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena gets a visitor after her father's funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to warn this is a bit angsty and be the groundwork of why this is slow burn--Lena and Kara's reluctance to come to term with their sexuality and then accepting that said sexuality has had them fall for someone they cherish

Lena got home, just mother following her. Lex had gone and left after having had spent a few nights in his old room to be there for Lillian.

 

Lena was uncomfortable to see Lillian cry. She never pictured it possible for such a person. It was unnatural. Seemed almost forced and yet made Lena had to grapple with the fact that possibly Lillian actually did marry her dad for love. That Lex at some point have a loving family before it all went wrong.

 

Though Lena knew when it went wrong. When Lionel decided he wanted a daughter and picked up Lena one rainy night. Lillian didn’t hide that was the trigger.

 

She flicked onto the switches as she could not stand any more darkness. From the windowless back seat of the car, the covered windows of the home with little lighting, and the dinner lacking any actual sincerity from Lionel’s peers made her want to burn all things drab even if they were what she knew so well.

 

She grabbed her phone charging in the kitchen. She looked at the news articles first because she didn’t want to have pity be the first thing she faced finally being in what was her safe space, though she was missing an important aspect that would make it that.

 

She saw the blurry recording on a news article talking about a new superhero.

 

She felt a breath on the back of her neck and she knew Lillian had seen it too. She shut the phone and put it down. “That’s interesting, right?”

 

“Terrifying. How easily she could’ve killed those men.” Lillian’s eyes were downcast.

 

 _Even on this day? Your husband is now ashes in the ground!_ Her mind screamed. She picked the phone back up, tucking it into the pocket of her cardigan.

 

She bit back saying how easily they could have killed the whole bank filled with people, but she couldn’t. She just sighed and trudged up to her room. She lied down on the bed, kicking off her heels.

 

She looked at the pity messages her classmates sent her via social media. She ignored them for the most part and went to the messages Kara sent.

 

The human manifestation of sunshine had sent her a morning text and asking her to try a new brunch place that approaching weekend. Then she got a picture showing the folder of work Kara had grabbed her.

 

**_Supergirl: This is literally a nightmare but I got it for you. I dropped it in your mailbox so you don’t waste a sleepless night._ **

 

Lena bit her lip and looked at the articles again. Supergirl was what the Daily Planet called the mystery hero. She just changed the contact to “Kara” before replying to the woman.

 

**_You really are my hero._ **

**_Kara: You’re back._ **

**_Kara: Everything okay?_ **

**_The mystery girl took away from my dad’s funeral so that was good. I wondered why we weren’t as badly harassed._ **

**_Kara: Bonus_ **

**_Kara: so brunch lol_ **

 

Lena chuckled.

 

**_I’m in_ **

**_Kara: Yes! I will pick you up in Bertha she just got new oil and rims_ **

**_Bertha? The Prius is a Bertha_ **

**_Kara: What else_ **

**_There is no one else quite like you Kara_ **

**_Kara: You have no idea_ **

Lena smiled a bit. She did know though. Kara Danvers was one of a kind and it made her stomach sink thinking how aware she was of this girl’s uniqueness and wonderful existence. She touched her abdomen and scorned herself over those butterflies.

 

“You can’t do this,” she whispered. She sat up when someone knocked on her door. “It’s open!”

 

Her mother entered. They made eye contact without speaking. Lena wanted to ask what the hell she could want but was afraid to speak.

 

“Someone’s here to see you. I expect you send them away.” She threw a folder onto Lena’s desk.

 

Lena sighed and got up. “Okay…”

 

She shuffled downstairs, having put on her slippers. She went to the foyer, opening the door as Lillian had left their guest in the rain.

 

She saw the tall girl stood there, dark hair down and damp due to the rain. She was in all black, black dress, tights, heels, a black trench coat. So painfully stunning that Lena had been unable to keep herself from looking at her but actively avoided talking to her at dinner and the recession.

 

“Veronica…” she whispered. She looked and noticed the flowers in her hands. “Those are pretty.”

 

Lena looked at her exposed tanned shoulders next. She remembered kissing them so vividly. The faint smell of perfume that could come off of them and how they were so soft and warm to the touch. The dimple at the joint on the left arm and would dip her thumb into as a safe caress during lunch. She wanted to cry into them as those lanky arms hugged her. She fought her mind from comparing them to the strong arms that she had been in a few times over.

 

“I recall you saying Lionel and you both loved mums,” Veronica Sinclair spoke, there on that stoop as she was only inches away from being pelted again with raindrops. She had come alone. So easily excused as her parents knew she to be close to Lena Luthor, but of course, did not know just how close they were back at boarding school. All thanks to Lena’s blind love.

 

“Not like he’s here to appreciate them.” Lena stared blankly at her. It hurt. It hurt so much to see her. That she just left her without saying why. Far as Veronica knew, what anyone knew at their old school, Lena had just up and left without a word. Them being caught was a blip, a hiccup no one talked about because almost no one saw and Lena (and of course Lillian) tried so hard to hide.

 

“I think he is.” She smiled. She reached to touch Lena, pull her in. She frowned when the girl recoiled. “Hey…”

 

“Do you even know why I left?” Lena fought a sneer. She forced that pain in her chest to go from longing to disgust. What nerve could this woman have to come here? Likely confront her on why she’s been ignored on the day her father, the one person she knew for sure loved her in this dysfunctional family, was buried.

 

She wanted to know what those girls thought of her. Rejecting her before and then suddenly one day she has packed up. What rumors spread?

 

“Your father wanted to build here.” It was so simple. Lena never thought the woman to be naïve.

 

“Build? He was terminally ill when I left. Lex is building, Lionel was decaying.” She stared into Veronica. She was fighting to keep this up. Talking herself through a roller-coaster of anger, yet none of it was towards the woman before her. Parts of her still wanted to kiss her, hold her and even say what they never said. “No. Because of you,” Lena whispered. She looked at the ground, leaning into the doorframe. “They wanted to expel you since you were the older one. I decided to take the blame. All of it.”

 

Veronica stared at her, pale and lips slightly parted. “Oh, Lena…”

 

“It was stupid.” She bit her lip. “I’m not gay. I was just angry and you were there.” She fought tears and dug her nails into her palms behind her back. She kept her cold exterior. Sheran through scenarios in her head where she would run into her arms.

 

“That’s not true.” She sounded like she was saying it to herself, whispered. Yet her eyes held this rage Lena hadn’t seen since they first met and they were foes. When Lena had outshined her in academia but Veronica figured to surpass her in appeal. In who adored her and who envied her, she won by a landslide. Lena recalled feeling lucky that she was the person Veronica chose.

 

And here she was, undoing all that.

 

“It is.” She straightened up. She could feel eyes burning into her back. But Lillian wouldn’t be so blasé. It was the microphones, the cameras on her. Watching just how well did she put on a show, as it directly influenced where Lena would be sleeping that night. “We’re teenagers. A little rebellion and curiosity can lead to…regrettable things.

 

“You’re saying you’ll feel nothing when I do this…”Veronica put a hand to Lena’s cheek, moving down to kiss the lips she missed.

 

Lena returned with a strike across a long tanned cheek. Enough to make Veronica drop the metal pot, causing water to spill at their feet.

 

“Don’t touch me.” She felt like throwing up at what she did. Yet she knew the sad truth that she would be so inevitably fucked if Lillian shut her away forever. What resources did she have outside of this toxic family that took her in eleven years ago?

 

Veronica left her wordlessly, stepping back into the rain and walking to the silver car parked down the way.

 

Lena stepped back and shut the door slowly. It clicked into place before Lillian emerged.

 

“Come here,” Lillian whispered, almost sounding sincere. It was enough for Lena to turn to her even if in her core she was so ready to scream at this woman. Cry at how she is to be respected for who she is and that there was no changing this. That what she said was a script she constructed in her mind based off all things Lillian had said to her and what she knew her mother wanted to hear.

 

But yet she ran into the motherly embrace and broke down in tears. A rarity that Lillian even allowed this. She didn’t hold her during the funeral, didn’t do it at the hospital, or any day when they were home together and Lena was obviously ready to break down.

 

Yet here, after what Lena did what she knew Lillian wanted. She wanted Lena to lie to the world, to herself. Refused to even acknowledge that this just might be tearing Lena apart from the inside.

 

Lillian stroked her fingers through her daughter’s dark hair. She even went so far as to kiss her temple. “Shh…”She rubbed her back as she sobbed. “I’m so proud of you. This is the first step of leaving that behind. Not us leaving. But breaking ties with that horrible woman.” Lena hadn’t heard that for ages.

 

 _“I’m so proud of you.”_ Last time she said that was when Lena had been discovered as an intellectual. She had been in a “normal” course as an elementary schooler until she was tested. Her teachers were amazed and requested she is placed where she could “most succeed.” It ripped her from her close friends. When she had been asking to stay with them Lillian had said that little phrase, “But dear Lena, I’m so proud of you. Why throw this away?” It was enough guilt for a small child.

 

_She’s still a kid like I am. That’s why we’re in love. We’re young and dumb girls being punished for something all teenagers do—date._

 

“Dear Lena,” she mumbled, hardly using that name for her adoptive daughter. “Go wash up. I’ll make you some tea.”

 

“O—kay,” Lena hiccupped. She stepped back and went upstairs. She went up to her bathroom. She stared at the black streaking down her cheeks.  She sucked in a harsh breath and roughly rubbed at her cheeks. She felt the buzz of her phone, going like a typewriter just for Kara.

 

She turned on the sink and washed her face. She gripped the edges of the sink as more sobs came out. She felt that buzz keep coming as if Kara by some force of nature knew that the girl was breaking down.

 

Lena pulled one of her inhalers from the medicine cabinet, taking a huff as she struggled. She dried off her neck and face. She checked her phone.

 

**_Kara: Do you want to talk?_ **

****

**_Kara: I’m here if you need me_ **

****

She ignored it, putting it aside. She heard it go off and she looked at it again.

****

**_Kara: I miss you_ **

 

Lena bit her lip and put her phone away. She shuffled to bed, curling up under the covers after changing into her PJs.

 

Lillian came in and placed her tea on her desk. Lena watched her warily. She saw how her body trembled and she herself had taken off her makeup, now unable to hide the purple crescent moons below her eyes. She sat on the edge of Lena’s bed.

 

Lena sat up and grabbed the mug. She blew gently on it.

 

Lillian grabbed a slip of paper from Lena’s floor and placed it on her desk. Lena almost wanted to scream at Lillian to say something. Sat there in silence made her want to be yelled at just so she could be aware of what was going on in Lillian’s head because the idea of not knowing made her want to curl up somewhere a hundred miles away while simultaneously making her want to ask the pitying question of “are you okay?”

 

“Mom?” She mumbled, finally.

 

“The day you first saw your father, who stayed over the night before?”

Lena paled. “W-what?”

 

“I’m not dense. The lapse in the footage? The amount of food and trash? You need to get smarter if you want to best me.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about this right now—“

 

“You don’t get to choose. Who was over?”

 

Lena felt her back go cold. She focused more on her breathing to not let her coming attack come through. “A group of four. They’ve been nice to me. The boys slept in separate rooms from the girls.”

 

Lillian stared off. “You know I could make sure you never see them again.”

 

Lena nodded, fighting off another wave of tears.

 

“I don’t want them in our house again. Do you hear me?”

 

“Yes,” Lena whispered. She stared off.

 

“Look at me when you speak.”

 

Lena looked up, staring into the arrogant eyes and spoke again. “I hear you, mother.”

 

Lillian smirked and stood up. “Good.” She walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading


	11. Not Exactly A Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara learns a new secret Alex kept from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rewritten chapter. The second half used to have a different outcome until it was said that I had strayed from the character laid out by canon and my own choices. I promptly rewrote it because honestly I wasn't feeling and it was partially a place-holder as I had the original completed and edited, and had also not updated in nearly a month. But that is no excuse to leave my readers shit content. This isn't the CW!
> 
> I have to warn you it is violent and Kara is almost Red-K in behavior, but it is coming from shock, anger, fear, and her sense of survival

Alex enjoyed her life as it was. Nineteen with life ahead of her, beautiful girlfriend, depression under control, a loving mother and sister—what was there to hate?

Ah, yes. The elephant in the room so docile until the day Kara showed up in that suit. Alex saw it. A blurry video of a woman shot by a bystander. Without glasses and her hair down and only a few seconds of her face shot with a shaky hand was enough for Alex to know.

It made her blood run cold. All her effort in the past four years to make sure Kara had adjusted. The normalcy she promised to bring her. It was one of the last things she said to Jeremiah—the promise to keep Kara under the radar. Clark every time they talked would mention how he’s glad she’s giving Kara the life he had before he came back. Every bit of effort she gave was now done for.  

Alex at home stayed quiet, hoping Eliza had an earful. But there was acceptance in direction of Kara. The teenager came in with a spiel about her duties, her destiny. She had the eyes, the shaky voice. She completely milked it for all it was worth. Eliza allowed her to proceed this path.

Now that was done. Kara was the sort of person who would give all of themselves to protect others and this was a new outlet for that. A deadlier one. Alex's mind wanted to take her to the worst. The worst Clark had faced and then times ten worst.

 It had been days later. Alex considered her steps from this. If her mother would not act, she could. Something, anything. A way to talk Kara out of this was non-existent. So how to prevent this path? 

Alex heard footsteps approach as she was staring into space at work. The Director’s polished boots loudly clicking against the concrete floor that foreshadowed the scorn, making her dread turning around. She considered for a moment running but knew that would get her in even more hot water she was already in. 

But she did. She turned around and his dark brown eyes were staring her down as if he had Kara’s laser vision and could obliterate her. He likely wanted to as their desire of keeping another powerhouse of a Kryptonian under wraps was undone. 

“Director Henshaw, I…“She started, but he spoke lowly. People joked it was his dad voice, but no one ever would say that to his face. He was so quiet, one gives up their defensive distance and must submissively lean in. It was then he could randomly scream, making one jump and want to cover their ears. It was an immature gesture that would gain one another layer of scolding. 

“I want you to be dealing with what happened with that girl. Get her to the bureau. Any means possible.” She bit her lip at the low voice.

She made her way to the armory, grabbing the rifle equipped with kryptonite darts. She for once felt fear in the bits of power in the weight of a weapon in her worn hands. She over the past year had been accustomed to it. Yet now it was so foreign as she could not clearly say in her mind if she wanted to pull the trigger of this weapon in some shape or form. 

But then her mind created scenarios of Kara’s destruction…and she decided to act. Act like this rather than just waiting to talk to Kara. 

* * *

 

Kara was up in the air once school ended. It had been a few days since her debut. Alex had not been home after the first day. Eliza said she was staying with friends.

Her mind wandered, saying she should check on Lena. The girl had been coming to school but had avoided Kara. Kara would ask her what she got on her essays and she would just pack up, she would try to talk to her during ninth and the girl would just be lost within music and writing. No texts, no calls, and she wasn’t sitting at lunch with them anymore.

Kara shook her head, wind whirring past her ears. She had to block it out, eyes closed as her other senses searched for trouble.

A crash, a car alarm—the distraction of what she needed from the confusion that was the younger woman’s isolation. She went to dive down as she heard a whizzing. Not quite a bullet. She looked around, just to yelp in pain. She looked down at her side and saw a silver dart stuck into her side. The wind screamed in her ears as she lost altitude.

She wanted to scream as well but her throat had gone dry. She knew that she could only minimize how much she fell before impact. She aimed for a skyscraper. But as she tried to bolt, another stabbing pain hit her. She tried to yank at the now two darts.

She felt her bones crunch as she hit the ground, pavement giving away as well. She looked around, eyes blurring. She saw three figures approaching her, wielding guns.

 

 

Kara woke up with a jolt, her mind suddenly from black to unable to go without affecting the body. She first checked her arm. She recalled the loud snap and expected to be unable to move it. 

Here now she gingerly stroked it and felt no pain. Scarring on it suggested someone has allowed it to heal mostly but not to let her cells to clear all proof of injury. 

She looked around, realizing she was contained in a glass cell. It made her picture Hannibal, a transparent cage containing the horror. Yet this had a green tint and judging by a slight headache, she knew it what it was for.

She was still in her uniform. She stood up, testing the glass with a running slam of her shoulder. Pain prickled across her upper arm and shoulder blade. Shatterproof glass, likely strong enough to stop a bullet she guessed. She wasn’t at a strength to break it with the kryptonite being pumped in traces. She put her hand to her ear, the piece having a panic button. But with that, she found it was gone. They took her possessions. They knew who she was and with that her family's location. 

Her throat went dry and she started to pace, wanting to run again.  _Eliza...Alex...what if they have them too?_

She went back to the corner as a man entered. He didn’t speak a word to her. “Hey!” She shouted. “This is all fun sparky but can I get out of here?” He didn’t look at her. He was more focused on something on the wall. He couldn’t have been too much older than her. No signs of aging on his alabaster skin. She studied him a bit. 

Obviously athletic with the way his arms strained the stretchy fabric of his uniform's long sleeves. Armed with a gun as it stuck out like a sore thumb on his slender hips. If she got out and away from their tech, she could get out without harm. But they had kryptonite tech. They knew how to sedate her, how to harm her. They also know how to heal her. 

“I’m in a lab…” she muttered. He paused and glared at her before turning and leaving. “Hey! Can I at least get water or something!” She put a hand to her throat. It was dry and it was getting to her sight. It was spotty but she wondered was that recovering from being out cold and the fact she just ran straight into a wall without much thought.

She figured slowly they knew she was best inside this confinement. She looked at her suit once more and pulled her cape over herself like a blanket. She took the hiding to take off her boot.

_ It’s in here…it has to be in here. They wouldn't undress me and put me back in my uniform. Not so carefully.  _

She peeled away the insole and there was a knife blade with barely any handle. It was for a pinch, as Winn was paranoid. Hence the tracker in her heel, the panic button, and now this nifty blade. 

She wondered if she should wait, as they would eventually check in on her. She could get the jump on them. But she also knew they likely had means to assess her without touching her. And if she was affected by the kryptonite, they could simply shoot her dead.

Her mind went to all the spy movies and crime shows. With that, she got the idea to cut her forearm just enough. She ducked down and sucked in the blood. She fought gagging at the chemical taste it had. They put something in her. It wasn't toxic or meant to harm her, as she figured a direct swallowing of a substance likely injected would've put her in an immediate state of vomiting. 

She got enough to coat her teeth and run down her chin. With that, she collapsed and faked tremors. She spat the gathered blood out on the floor as the young man and a middle-aged woman wearing a lab coat came running in. 

The hue left the cell and they opened the door. Kara kept up her act as she knew she had to get the hell away from this. The man knelt down first, reaching for her shoulder to turn her in the direction of the woman.

She came to life and landed a cut on the man’s arm. He yelled out, holding the bleeding limb to his chest and falling back. The woman went for a gun at her ankle. Kara grabbed her and flipped her onto her back. The woman yelped and Kara winced as she heard a small pop as she hit the unyielding linoleum. She snagged her keycard and sprinted out. She looked at her arm as the wound healed quickly, knowing then she had her abilities and simply needed to avoid others. 

She heard alarms going and running steps. She ducked into a room thanks to the key as an armed group of whoever came into the hall. They were frantic and talking to each other and into communicators. 

She heard one: “Agent Danvers what’s your visual?” 

But it was clear, as if behind her rather in front. She whipped around, a dart similar to what hit her embedding in the door next to her right ear. 

Alex looked at her, stoic and holding the dart rifle. 

Kara stared down her sister, blood on her uniform and wild survival burning her blue giant eyes. 

Kara stepped back and tightened the grip on her small handle. “Alex…”She wiped her mouth. 

“Please tell me that’s yours and not one of the agents, Kara.” She held the weapon steady, yet too afraid to shoot.

“I just spat out my blood. This isn’t mine…”Kara looked at her bloody blade. She dropped it, knowing she wouldn’t be needing it if she played the next few steps right.

“Who did you kill?” 

“No one. I was contained in a cell! They’re lucky I didn’t.” She frowned. “Put that down.” She leaned into the door. “Explain to me why I’m here and why you’re dressed like the people who are containing me.” 

Alex opens her mouth to speak when the security glass has a battering ram shoved through, taking out the frames and wires. Kara jumped away, protecting her sister from the spray. 

From the parted glass stepped a middle-aged man that looked like he never learned how to smile. He held in his hand a small pistol containing similar darts to the one Alex had. 

"You're out of your mind," he growled as he looked down at the girl. 

Kara stared back. "You're calling an animal insane for going violent when cornered!" She set her jaw as she saw the armed group behind the man. Weapons on her, hidden fear in their eyes. Men, women, individuals--it did not matter. They were afraid. 

Seeing that made it fall away. She slumped her shoulders and looked around. It processed quickly she had broken a woman's back and stabbed a man and if she had been any more reckless, killed him by slicing the artery. 

"Danvers, take her to clean up. I'll be back when I've cleaned up my bureau," he barked. 

Alex went to put her hand on Kara's lower back, but the hero swatted her hand away. The door was opened and they stepped through the agents who did not lower their weapon even it was so obvious their target was now contained. 

When Alex shut the door to the conference room...she felt the force of Supergirl. 

"You shot me out of the sky." No question and it possessed the low Kara voice that spoke:  _I should yell, but I'm waiting for you to be stupid and warrant it._

"I was given an order." 

"I was given a broken arm!" Kar finally yelled. "Alex, you could've killed me! And you going on how that blood better be mine? You caged me! I thought I was about to be tortured!" She kicked a chair into the wall, embedding it in the concrete. "What is this?  _What the hell is this?"_

Alex bit her lip. "I'm not a student...not in the traditional sense." 

"I don't care! Why Alex? Why duty over your sister? Your only sister!" Kara stared her down. Her heels giving her height over Alex did not help the woman be able to meet her eye. 

"Kara you are a force a civilian does not know much about. There are people like Lex Luthor who advocate for you being controlled. Treated as war weapons--" 

"Answer my questions, not try to justify shooting me from the sky when you could've called me here like a civilized fucking person." 

Alex pushed her into a seat, taking her surprise the chance to have an upper hand. "You listen here you--" 

"Agent Danvers." The sisters looked up and saw the man. 

"Director Henshaw," Alex mumbled. "She has questions." 

"Naturally," he said calmly. His calm demeanor in ways just pissed Kara off more. He was trying to be rational here like Kara was so illogical to have a natural mechanism snap on. "Supergirl, your sister is part of my bureau. Well, department. We're low-profile, masquerading as what we can in order to keep the public from knowing." He had Alex extract her badge. "Department of Extranormal Occurrences. That in layman's term is all things alien such as you and your cousin." 

"Does Kal know?" Kara muttered. 

"He knows we exist...he does not know what has happened today," Hank said lightly. He moved around the room, away from Kara. To have her eye follow would be his claim of this all. Kara stayed focused on the table, wondering the quickest way out of here when she did not know the layout. Only up she supposed. 

When she shifted she saw a dark and worn down hand smack on the immaculate table. "Now don't go getting crazy on us again." 

She smiled at the table, wanting to laugh. "So what do you want with me? I really should get going soon...My partner worries." 

"Yes, we found your little mole." He straightened up. Kara lost her smile and he had a small one now. 

"If you touched him..."

"We haven't moved in. We will see your crimes null, because you did break laws, Supergirl." He paced. "If you work for us...I will allow you to bring him in, and we will get him set up with a place here. I hate to admit but he's skilled. He could be like your sister." 

"Oh, you kidnapped her too!" She looked at Alex. "I can't wait for Eliza to know." 

"She never will. Like how no one outside our little group knows you are anything but a girl with an aptitude for sports." Alex leaned over the table. "Kara, I joined last year. Hank had had his eyes on me due to what happened to dad and my test scores. He came to me when I was busted driving drunk off my ass. He made bail and mom didn't hear because I was over eighteen." 

Kara held back a snarky comment and frowned. "Don't paint this place as a savior. You're criminalizing people for just being aliens." 

"No, we're making sure that criminals that are aliens are persecuted in a way that fits their certain abilities. You just proved that an inmate of alien descent cannot be contained or treated like a normal prisoner." He adjusted the gun on his hip. "You'll be helping us with these cases and working on normal crime-fighting if you agree. Or you will be deemed a threat and thrown back into a cell much worse than what you had. You get hurt I will call off the dogs and let you rot." 

"So I say yes, bring Winn in...what if he refuses." She was thinking her options. She could move Winn around, but now she has an inkling of their abilities. They found him after only a bit of exposure. A man who bounced his signals got out without leaving anything, and thought of everything when it came to her safety...

"He signs non-disclosure contracts and he goes back to being a foster child with little to no way of building himself up. He says yes...he can be arguably set for life and leave this with enough experience to snag credentials for most tech jobs in the field." 

"Don't act like you're doing us any favors by doing this when you're using an ultimatum in every case and finding people going through it." She stood up. "I'm going." 

"I don't want you flying until you're fly tested," Hank said. 

"Well, extra-normal, you've seen me fly. So that's the test and I passed. Show me the exit or be ready to have a Supergirl shaped hole in your precious bureau you just cleaned up." 

He glared at her before finally saying, "Danvers, show her out." 

Alex walked out, Kara following close. She went to speak. 

"Don't," Kara said. "You know I woke up and the first thing I worried about was that whoever took me had my ID, so they had my address where you and Eliza were. Guess I shouldn't bother to worry about you when you've got that director and whatever this is." Kara frowned. "I'm still pissed and I want you to think of your life without a sister before you say anything to try to make me feel bad about this. Think about how you would explain to Eliza how it happened without lying to her like you have for the past year." 

Alex frowned. Another agent approached, handing her an evidence bag that simply held Kara's phone, wallet, and keys. Kara flew off right when they hit sunlight again. She messaged Winn who had sent a mess of texts. 

**Winn: Are you okay?**

**Winn: Hey it's been a while**

**Winn: I can't find you Kara please**

**I'm ok. Stay with James until I can talk to you ok?**

She didn't put it past them to get him when he was alone to get more than they let on to her. 

**Winn: ok...**

**Winn: Kara i'm scared**

**I promise it will be ok.**

**love  you winslow**

**Winn: love u**

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this with a cat on my arms. I should get the next chapter up soon. I plan on focusing on this story more than my other supercorp fic because it just has a legit plot and is more fun writing honestly
> 
> Also in general annoyance with picking apart the carcass of my old chapter, I had the doc I write have the break to indicate the new version be "SHE GOT SHOT OUT OF THE FUCKING SKY JANET" because I listened to Rocky Horror Picture Show when I started it.


	12. Bertha on a Side Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara finally gets Lena to speak up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitch it's angsty and fluffy. Lena is still a fucking nerd.

Kara checked her phone as she walked into her last class of the day. She saw Lena had beat her to the class like always. The girl was already on her computer and earbuds in.

“Wow you’re on fire,” she said. The girl didn’t look up, but her faltering hands showed to Kara that she heard her.

Kara sighed and sank down into her seat. She powered up and got to work on the master plan for the next paper. She put in the pictures James took for her for a few articles. She smiled a bit as she looked at the details.

She saw the emotion, the vulnerability. He took a lot of stupid risks, but it was a good photo.

It was a story about the rise in overdoses, and he had gone to a crack den. He had his phone ready as he entered and got the consent of the individual. Snapper almost denied it, but Kara went right to Ms. Grant and said it did not violate any laws and within the free print the school granted, and the lack of explicit material, she should be allowed to place it.

Ms. Grant agreed and then promptly requested James should submit it to contest.

Kara had just been finishing up as Lena finally took out her earbuds. “Hey,” Kara said softly, as the room was silent.

Lena tensed and turned to her. “Hi.” She adjusted her sweater sleeves. That day she had gone for a large orange sweater and a set of black overalls. The sleeves had fallen from her elbows.

Kara powered off her computer as the period was coming to a close. “I…can we hang out after school?” She had been messaged by Henshaw to come ASAP. Her as soon as possible would be after her chat, and hashing out what mattered.

Lena paused. She stared at her screen, the blinking cursor upon it. “Yes.” She hadn’t been able to figure an excuse this time.

Kara fought a grin. “Great.” She planned later on talking to Winn but first wanted to address Lena’s current angst. She planned on going to Winn and explaining what she saw. What she wanted to do.

The bell rang and the two walked to the Prius. Kara got into the driver’s seat as Lena climbed in next to her. She snatched the car before Alex woke up. The older girl had messaged her that she needed the car. Kara said she could probably just get an SUV if she so desperately needed a set of wheels. That did it.

She drove off once Lena was buckled in. “Coffee?” She knew that was an icebreaker.

“No, it’s fine.”

“It can be black.”

“…Alright.” Lena fought a smile. Kara wanted to swoon at seeing that. She went to a shop and went in for them. She came back and handed Lena her coffee. Lena put her ice coffee in the cup holder.

“I love the little trees on the cups,” Kara commented, looking at her peppermint mocha. She preferred something sweet. A syrup especially masking was her way to go.

“They do seem like your aesthetic.”

“I didn’t realize I had one. I have so much that is just a jumbled mess.” Kara pulled out of the lot and simply drove around the city. “Are you okay?”

Lena picked at her straw, bending it and rubbing the lipstick from it. “I—not really.”

“But you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Nope…”

“Lena, you came out to me.” Lena glared at her. Kara went on voice lowered. She wanted to say how ridiculous Lena is being over it. But she knew the hard way that’s not the way to go. “I like to think there’s an amount of trust where you can speak to me. Because I can see you really do want to talk.”

Lena shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” Kara looked at her briefly. Lena was heaving a bit. “Hey, breathe. Take your time…”

“My mother doesn’t want me to see you guys anymore.” Lena tensed up, waiting for Kara to scream.

Kara stopped her car suddenly. She got honked at and one man that went around her flipped her off. She sighed and parked them on a side road. “Lena…”

Lena straightened up, having gathered what to say. What she could say to get through to Kara. “I shouldn’t. Kara, it’s not the best thing for me to be around two couples when I’m grappling with what happened. What I did.”

“What did you do?” Kara saw her wince a bit. “Lena, what happened?”

Lena faltered. She sipped her drink and then put it in the cup holder. “Veronica was at the funeral. She came to me afterward. And I tore her to pieces. I struck her across the face, Kara…”

“And your mother is punishing you for that outburst against a Sinclair?” Kara recalled the name. Knew they were another major player in the industrial world. Knew she had to be to be in the same place as Lena Luthor.

“She was proud of it.” Lena stared ahead. She had the small smile she possessed when proud. Kara felt an odd wave of horror, if not slight disgust. “It’s been so long since…I mean after all I did.”

_What the hell has Lillian done to make this be Lena’s response?_

Kara paused. She spoke up; knowing that letting this go unsaid could put Lena into a slippery slope of being manipulated. “Your mother shouldn’t have this control over you, Lena. It’s not healthy.”

“She’s my mother.” Lena faltered, losing her strong posture. “She’s the boss. And I’m stuck in her ways until I’m out of college.” It made part of Kara want to be sick. She knew Lena was shy but weak? Hell no. Lillian Luthor had an attitude to fix and if she had to do it…

“Eliza would not do this to me. She would only act if she felt my life was put in danger by my friends. Not isolate me from the only friends I have because they are not to her tastes. It’s isolation. Lena, you are not the person thrive off of isolation. You are a person who needs to be out there, spread out, viewing the world in different ways. You can get work done alone, but that does not mean you are the best person you can be alone.”

Lena glared at her. “You don’t know me.” Kara gripped the wheel tight. Any other week that would have been okay. But with Winn hiding and her trust for Alex as strong as a decade old condom, it was not the time.

“I don’t?” Kara loosened, knowing she could break the wheel right from the dash. “Don’t know the fact you paint your nails so you do not bite them to the beds? That you would be a history teacher if you didn’t go into STEM? That you draw the letter x all over your palm when you’re bored because you like the feeling of the ball rolling over your skin? That you have a creative side that shapes that _beautiful_ mind of yours that make your inventiveness all the more wonderful? That you secretly dream of having the family company be yours so you can rebrand and help people?“

“That’s—go to hell!” Lena went to open the door. Kara had locked it so it, of course, did not budge and the newer car did not have a way for Lena to do it herself. “Hey!” The older woman paused. She frowned and unlocked it. Yet this time Lena did not budge. “P-please…”Kara wanted to touch the girl’s shoulder but stuck afraid of scaring her as if the younger woman was a deer.  Hell, she would hug her tight if she was certain it was okay.

She heard a small sob. “Kara I can’t…”She hid her hands in her sleeves and then hid her face. She cried into the wool.

“Can’t what?” Kara looked at her, her heartbreaking. She unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning in and hugging Lena tight.

Lena’s left hand went to one of Kara’s forearm.  She sucked in a shaky breath. She palmed her pockets for her inhaler as she choked out, “I can’t take this.” She rested her forehead on Kara’s shoulder.

“Me? Your mother?” She paused. “Lena, I’m sorry if I am brash. Or rude or loud or make you feel like a child…I don’t want to be like her to you. I’m your friend, not your guardian. Not a hero to save you.” She sighed. “Just…”She didn’t know how to finish this.

“Why did you know? About how she is?” Lena sounded outright terrified. Kara went to let her got but Lena held her with both arms now.

“You’ve hidden us and did not care. Now you do? Something had to have been negative.” She frowned. “I’m afraid sometimes. Wondering what all that goes on in those I love’s lives.” She felt the woman tense. “I mean—who I care about.” She swallowed nervously. She felt Lena’s shaky breath on her neck. “I, um,” she went on, fidgeting with the girl’s sweater. “I was just afraid.”

“Of what? She does me no physical harm.” They parted and Kara for once in her life felt cold. She fidgeted with her jean jacket’s buttons.

 _I know. You wouldn’t stand for that. But there’s a harm more lasting._ She looked at Lena, silent for a bit. “I know.” She looked ahead. “I don’t want us to hide things from each other. I want to be close to you. Be someone you can trust.”

“I do trust you.” Lena raised her voice a bit. Having Kara think she didn’t trust her? It made her stomach drop and her heart seize. She trusted Kara more than Lex at this point, even having gone without more than a few words with her. 

“Please talk to me then?” Kara took her hand. She smiled when it was accepted. She wanted to mention the improvement.

“I missed you,” Lena mumbled, smiling sheepishly. Kara chuckled. “What?” She arched a brow quizzically.

Kara rubbed her thumb over her knuckles before letting her hand go. “I did too. You made us miss your birthday! What did you do?” Kara looked through her bag as Lena spoke.

“Lex took me shopping after I got my license,” Lena said. She smiled slightly, happy to have time with him without anything influencing. No Superman, no mom, no dad…just them like it used to be.

“Oh, yeah. Alex and Eliza did that for me. I got that suit I really like. Wait, you haven’t seen my suit.” She paused after throwing her binders in the backseat.

Lena grinned. “No, I haven’t. I really want to now. And…my shopping was different.”

“Oh, right. Rich kid.” Kara looked at her. “What was it? Gucci spree?” She smiled playfully.

“Porsche, actually.” Lena pulled out her phone and showed Kara a picture.

“Wow! Okay, you’re driving from now on,” Kara gasped as she saw the sleek black car. Lena had not taken a picture in it or next to it. Simply just a picture of it. She wanted to comment how boring it was that Lena didn’t take any shots with it. Kara remembered how when Alex got Bertha, at the time in desperate need of a new side panel and fender but still all they wanted, how they took some god awful shots even if it was possibly the least exciting car anyone could get.

“Deal. But I’ll miss riding shotgun in Bertha.” Lena patted the scratched up dash.

“Any time you need us, we’ll be there.” She cheered. “Here!” She held up a little box. The corner was a bit ripped as it had paper wrapped around it. “Uh, sorry about that.”

Lena just grinned. “It’s good…”She blushed. “You didn’t have to get me a gift.”

“I know. Wanted to. It’s actually a thing me and the group went in on. It’s not much, but…”

“No! I love it,” Lena said quickly. She took it. “I wish they could be here too.” She frowned. _They probably hate me now over this._

“We’ve been wondering where you’ve been. Can I expect to see you at the table with us?”

“Of course.” Lena perked up. Kara grinned and put her seatbelt back on.

“Good, now, open it.” Kara smiled softly as the younger girl tore the gift open. She gasped loudly as she held a Gameboy color and cartridges.

“Oh my god!” Lena grinned like a fool. “Holy shit, this is so cool.”

“I remembered you saying you wanted some old consoles to play with. And there’s this old toy store around where Mags works. Saw this and knew it was it. And we found the cartridges on Ebay.”

 

“I love it.” Lena held it to her chest. “It’s sad but I love it more than the car. If I had to choose…this.” She gasped when it turned on. Winn made sure it had batteries before it was wrapped.

 

“You’re a weird kid,” Kara chuckled. She messed up Lena’s hair before driving off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	13. Agent Schott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chaos that was Winn's first day as an "agent" of the DEO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used to have this be one chapter with the previous chapter's content. Then I decided to divide it and enter some of what happened during the first episode of the canon series.

Kara showed up at James’ door after flying over from school.

 

She stopped to prevent a collision, a purse snatcher and saved a cat from a tree. She carefully knocked on the glass door. She heard shuffling as someone came down the stairs from the upper level of the double.

 

James opened the door. “Hey,” he muttered. He stepped aside, allowing Kara to stroll in. “He’s in my room right now. I’m about to go out to run an errand for my mom.”

 

“I’ll make sure everything’s okay until you’re back. Thank you for doing this.”   


“My mom is going to want him to go soon. His foster parents will want him back.” James looked at her.  

 

“Trying to fix this James.” 

He slipped on his jacket. "I don't want things "fixed."" He looked at her. "I want him to be safe and happy. Your fix has him still in the middle of danger." He looked exhausted. He sighed and brushed past her when she had nothing to counter with. 

Winn was sat on the floor with his laptop in front of him. He looked up at Kara. “Hey.” He looked like he hadn’t slept more than a few hours for the past week. His clothes were rumpled and his hair wasn’t slicked as usual.

 

“Hi.” She sat next to him. “New background?” She looked at the generic jellyfish.

 

“New hard drive. I gutted and wiped what I could. Working on getting some new systems to make my IP harder to find. I was reckless with bouncing only within the continent.” He frowned.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what happened.”

 

“I guessed that’s what happened. We were found out by something quiet. I’m not dumb.” He looked at her. “Why I said yes. We both wanted to help people and that’s the smart way to go.” He smiled sadly, eyes downcast and no tooth-flashing. He sucked in a breath. “Maybe I should just turn myself in to whatever this is…”

 

“I’ll tell you what I know.” She looked at him. “It’s the Department of Extra-Normal Occurrences. They deal with aliens.”

 

“I’ve never heard of them.”

 

“Then they’re doing what they do right. I only knew because I was shot out of the sky by them.” She held back the red hot anger that came with it. She still hadn’t talked to Alex about it. “That’s why I didn’t talk to you.”

 

“Do they know your identity? Are Eliza and Alex going to be okay?”  

 

“Yeah, Alex should be fine.” She sighed. “She’s part of the DEO and I think it’s because of me. I think I went from being her little sister to her mission.”  She frowned and bunched up her fist.

 

He pushed his laptop away. “So she’s been lying to us for how long?”

 

“Going on a year. Eliza doesn’t know. James doesn’t. I don’t know about Maggie.”

 

He fell back, covering his eyes. The exhaustion and stress made a small sob bubble up from his mouth. “Fuck, I can’t take this…”

 

“No! Winn, they want you to be afraid. It'll be okay. Just, don't let them intimidate you. Okay?" 

 

“You won’t know unless we act! You said it when this started. Action, action, action! We need action.” He pounded a fist on the floor, whimpering after that.

 

“I’m not doing anything until they tell me their intentions." 

 

“No…Kara, let me do this.” He sat up and looked at her. His eyes were blurred with tears of frustration and he had a small sneer.

 

“Winn they’re just going to scare you.”  


He scrambled to his feet. “So what are you gonna do, hm?” He crossed his arms. “Protect me for the rest of my mortal life?”

 

“Yes.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “Winn, I love you like the brother I never had. I swear to my god and yours…that not a soul will harm you. Even if it kills me.”

 

“That’s a bit dramatic.” He frowned. “And they will keep finding us. You know that.” She hung her head. “What did they have to say about me?”

 

“Not much. They just informed me that what we did was illegal. Said they wanted to absorb us both into the department.”

 

He frowned. “The thing is Kara I don’t want to be in the dark.” He looked at her. “I have been a lot and so have you. Isn’t that fucked up? To do this just to be afraid again? I don’t want to cower in my boyfriend’s house and need my best friend to protect me. Let’s do it.” He packed up. “You’re taking me. You have Bertha?”

 

“No, just my abilities.” She took off her jacket. “You okay with being carried?”

 

“…Sure.” He opened the window. “Kara?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I’m going to scream a lot.”

 

“I know hon.” She quickly stripped down to her suit and hopped out, hovering until he climbed into her arms. She flew off and his grip tightened. He yelped a bit and was trembling. “I got you.”

 

She got him to location. “Desert?” He looked down and then held his bag tighter.

 

“Yeah. Really extra out here.” She put him down and extracted her new card. She scanned and entered.

 

Upon seeing Winn a few guns were drawn. Kara stepped and pushed him behind her.

 

Hank and Alex came into view, calling off the alarmed agents. “Now that isn’t a nice way to treat a guest,” Kara chuckled. She got glared at. “What?”

 

Hank looked at Winn. “You brought a civilian to my base?”

 

“No. I brought your newest tech analyst to your base.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

 

He stared at her, not speaking yet. When Alex went to speak, he stopped her. She growled and spoke up anyways.

 

“Kara, you should've let us handle this." 

 

“I liked not being constrained to what you have to say,” Kara smirked. She tilted her head. “So here’s my idea. Hear me out. I’m more than a pretty face and some muscle in a miniskirt.” She ushered to Winn. “He sets up a variation of that system he possesses. It works more your forte and Alex can communicate to me via the system as well. A secondary phone for me just for Supergirl things. You let me do that and I will also be your weapon for the “Extra-Normal” because if it isn’t convoluted…this organization just might be what we need. What this world deserves in a new era of an alien migrant.”

 

Hank set his jaw. “I refuse to lose to a pair of teenagers.”

 

“I think my sister is proof to you that teenagers are more than the face value of years. And technically…I’m old enough to be your peer.” She quirked the corner of her mouth.

 

Hank stared at Winn. The boy hugged his messenger bag to his chest. “Um…”

 

“I’d like to take you out of Foster custody, Mister Schott,” Director Henshaw said calmly.

 

“Oh—what is this place?”

 

“I will fill you in when we can be alone.”

 

Kara stopped Winn from stepping up. “No. I want to see this.”

 

Hank grunted and partially ignored her. “Show me your setup.”

 

Winn nodded quickly, shuffling to remove and open his laptop. “Sure…can I have the wi-fi password?”

 

Hank silently entered it in for Winn. The boy worked quietly for a few moments. “Your system is different.”

 

“I gutted and set up new encryptions. I’ve never been traced before.” He looked up. “Kara sent some warning signals that I’m sure you know about.”

 

“I wished for Agent Danvers to get you alone and bring you. Mister Olsen’s presence prevented all efforts.”

 

“You know my boyfriend’s name…”Winn swallowed. “Is he safe? He and his family?”

 

“He’s not part of this.” Henshaw looked at his computer. The system code came up. “That’s a lot.”

 

“It takes that much. The NCPD didn’t notice or find me. Took you.” Winn was quiet as he tapped his worn down keys. “Oh, we have a current situation Supergirl.”

 

Alex and Hank studied the screen. “You have a non-human individual currently terrorizing Gogh park,” Alex announced.

 

“It’s before it reached our system,” Hank muttered just as the alert tinted the white screens around them red.

 

Kara smirked. “Should I stay or go, director?”

 

Hank grabbed a simple black earpiece. “Take this and go. It puts you on mine and Alex’s channel. You’ll have backup on its way.”

 

Kara changed to straight up glee and flew out.

 

Alex sat in the spot next to Winn. He watched her boot up their system. The piece was a tracker as well and Alex put in a piece matching but with an arm that extended the mouthpiece in front of her lips.

 

She had a feed up of the suspect. To Winn, it was something out a comic book mixed with a nightmare. He was hulking muscle of a man. Bald with a grown in five o’clock shadow. He waved around a macabre battle ax.

 

“Wait…”Alex looked at the image. Winn watched as various strings of code appeared and Alex’s fingers went across the immaculate keys. “Valeronian.” The director straightened up. Kara appeared on screen.

 

“Is he like Kara?” Winn asked. Alex frowned.

 

“He doesn’t function like she does on the genetic level.” She leaned back. “Kara is only strong due to her pulling power from the yellow sun. Say if you put her under a red light source and she was isolated from the sun’s rays…she would be as vulnerable as you.”

 

“So it’s like Kryptonite?”

 

“No…that’s going to work no matter what her energy level is. It’s fatal to her in high quantity. It can actually hurt humans if not well-contained or handled. Why it’s power or nuclear source is strongly avoided. Except—“

 

“It’s not utilized by anyone,” Hank said quickly. Alex glared at him. Winn kept watching the feed.

 

They could no hear what was said, but he was speaking quickly, hostile. Kara went from her arms crossed to a straight up look of puzzlement.

 

“Supergirl,” Alex spoke. “What’s the problem?”

 

The man moved first, swinging his ax. Winn almost laughed, knowing that would break upon hitting Kara. But then he had to watch in shock as Kara went down, holding her upper arm as blood spilled.

 

Kara was left paralyzed briefly with shocked, even if that week she had been forced to see much of the fact she could be harmed.

 

The director was gone when Winn looked over his shoulder.

 

Alex spoke again. “Supergirl!”

 

Kara ignored her and she flew at the man. She was able to slam into him. He got up after being knocked down and Kara obviously was shocked to see it. He swung the ax again. She grabbed the handle and elbowed him in the jaw. He staggered back.

 

Kara went to bend the weapon but came into realization it was not going to yield to her strength.

 

Her earpiece’s microphone was able to pick up. “ _What is this?”_

 

The man came back in her arms reach. Kara went to swing and he ducked and grabbed her arm. He used the other to grab his weapon. The wrestled around, her to get loose and him to get his ax back.

 

He head-butted her. They both looked in pain but Kara let go. He had his weapon and swung, hitting with the side of his ax over the head. She fell like a marionette from a cut string. He went to swing at her but she rolled away. Her heat vision burned his shoulder and he cried in pain.

 

She flew away, bobbing in the air.

 

Alex cursed and shut off the feed, yanking out her earpiece. Winn went to touch her shoulder and she swatted him away, glaring. When he looked wary, she softened.

 

She stood up and kicked over a chair. She walked off, speaking to the different communicator on her watch. “Get me med and sun lamps ready.”

 

**

Kara held tightly to the rails of the bed as Alex worked with a set of tweezers and a scalpel. “Hurry the hell up,” Kara growled, struggling to stay still as the woman probed the tender flesh unable to heal due to the piece of metal lodged in her bicep.

 

“I’m trying to make sure I don’t tear something.”

 

“I can heal it if you get this the fuck out of me!” Kara hissed and the rail came off the bed in her hand. Winn was at the time silently working outside, playing around with the basic advice Alex lent and his own personal arsenal.

 

Kara screamed a string of curses as the metal came out. She shut her eyes, shuddering as her cells rebuilt the cut muscle and skin. The lamps she was under burned her eyes but dulled the pain. “Fuck me…”She sat up and glared at the fragment.

 

Alex had a bit of it under what Kara could simply describe a microscope on steroids. Winn came in and looked at the screen she gazed at. 

“It’s a rare type of regenerating high heat metal," he observed as the screen next to the magnified image presented the properties. 

 

“His name was Vartox of Valeron,” Kara told them. “He talked about my mother…she had sent him the Phantom Zone. He wanted to kill me to write that wrong suddenly.”

 

Alex sent Winn outside with the information sent to his laptop. She instructed he show it to Hank. He nodded and left. 

Alex bit her lip. “Kara…I know you’re mad at me.”

 

“Alex this isn’t the time.”

 

“When will it? You don’t talk to me! You’re either at practice, school, or out god knows where!” Alex sucked in a shaky breath. “Kara, I should have acted differently. I fear a world without you…and that’s why I don’t want this for you. I’m sorry. I love you so much.”

 

Kara looked down at her boots. “You’re crying.”

 

“How else am I supposed to react?” Alex muttered. She straightened up, face cold. “He wanted you dead. I didn’t think anyone wanted you dead.”

 

“I’m a Zor-El. Most people of high rank have enemies even if they hold no malicious action or past.”

 

“I just—Kara I had to watch a girl my parents said was indestructible bleed…”

 

“You’ve made me bleed!” Kara bit her lip. “It’s fine. So what?”

 

“You didn’t know what to even do, Kara. He’s not a human you can hold in a vice grip. He was a being that could take your swings and knew how to fight. If you didn’t think to flee…”Alex couldn’t finish the thought.

 

“I would be dead.” Kara leaned back. She got off the bed. “I should get some rest. I probably got a fight tomorrow.”

 

“Can I show you something first?” Alex asked. Kara sighed and crossed her arms behind her head.

 

“Lead the way, gay.” Kara snorted at her own joke while her sister rolled her eyes. They walked through a small maze of halls. Alex took her key card and swiped it. The door slid open. Kara saw the mat at the center of the room. Weapons and bright white glowing panels ran along the steel walls.

 

Kara walked to the center, looking around. She peered at her healed arm, making a face at the tear and stain. “I think I should have this mended by Winslow.” She looked around as the room became green. “Whoa.”

 

Alex joined her on the mats after dropping her belt and holster. “Okay, Kara, I know a little bit about this Valeronian. You see…they’re something special.”

 

“How?” Kara arched a brow.

 

“They are not as indestructible as you, but they thrive off of this: military.” Alex took off her watch and dropped it by the holster.

 

“He didn’t look ex-military to me.”

 

“But so ingrained he has been trained in hand to hand. Kara your advantages are plenty…but if he can get the edge on you it doesn’t matter your abilities as he can get you worn down before you draw them.”

 

“Alex, I’ll be—“Kara felt a hand on her shoulder and before she knew it she was on the ground and Alex standing over her. “You’ve completely lost your mind.”

 

Alex smirked. “Stand up. Swing at me.” Kara got up quick and put her fists up.

 

“Alright. So this room tones me down, huh? I’m still a powerlifter.” Kara stepped forward and took a swing at Alex’s gut. Alex sidestepped and grabbed her forearm. The older girl yanked her in and brought her fist into Kara’s jaw. Kara staggered back as Alex let her go. She brought up her leg to kick and Alex ducked and ran into Kara, grabbing her by the waist and getting her on the floor.

 

Kara squirmed and rolled on top. She pinned Alex’s hands. “You are crazy,” Kara panted. She was too distracted as Alex brought her legs up and vaulted Kara off.

 

Kara groaned and rolled onto her belly. She saw Alex’s boots and felt a weight on her lower back. Her left arm was pushed up and she whimpered. “Fuck, ow! This is your point because if it is, you proved it.” She was let go and she sat crossed legged on the floor. “I need to learn how to fight. But I can’t learn in a day.”

 

“I know. I will be training you overtime. Vartox is likely going to go into hiding. We’ll be searching but until then you are going to stay off the grid. Can you please do that for me?”

 

“I guess since you asked this time.” Kara looked down.

 

“All it took? Not being a total bitch?”

 

“It helps sometimes.” Kara lied back and sucked in a deep breath of air. “I guess being strong isn’t always an advantage.”

 

“Not in some aspects. You have power, but you’re slower. You have to be able to land that hit because if you miss, and the smaller and faster opponent has the chance to take your vulnerability and mess you up.”

 

“Why you don’t bulk up, hm?”

 

“I also have high stress that has fucked up my metabolism, but yeah. That’s why.” Alex smirked and Kara chuckled a bit. Alex lied down next to her. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Think before we act?” Kara looked at her.

 

“I will, I don’t know about you.” Alex rolled onto her sister, grunting when the muscular girl hugged her tight.

 

“I want to get home to you and Eliza every day. I want a future outside of Supergirl. I gotta think.” Kara sighed. “I had every right to be angry, but I shouldn’t have been flippant or cruel. You’re still my sister even if you’re Agent Danvers.”

 

“I should’ve thought more. You’re still my sister even if you’re Supergirl.”

 

“Exactly!” The two sat up. “Can you give Winn a ride home? I can’t take him screaming right in my ear again.”

 

“I don’t have the Prius.”

 

“Oh fuck Bertha’s still at school!” Kara ran out.

 

Alex sighed and strolled out. Hank approached her. “You take her down a notch?” He asked.

 

“I talked to her like an adult if that’s what you mean.” Alex crossed her arms. “With all due respect, she is new at this and I admit she had a thick head sometimes, but she knows she has things to learn. You don’t have to hold her hand, but if you treat her like you treat a budding agent instead of a slacking one, you might find her start to listen to you.”

 

“How does your mother treat her?”

 

“Like a human.”

 

He looked down a moment before looking her deep in the eyes. She almost missed the flash of peculiar emotion before it went to cold anger. “Alex, that is a lot to ask with someone like her—“

 

“She thinks, feels, and bonds like we do. Just because she can fly and carry a plane doesn’t mean she’s above your trust.”

 

“People don’t trust her, why should we? Her cousin’s praise comes partially from fear. If he disappeared, if she did—“

 

“Don’t.” Alex pointed at him. “The world needs a hero and heroine. They’re worse for fucking wear but they are the least malicious beings we will encounter in this job.” She lowered her hand. “Now I’m taking a vehicle to take Agent Schott home.”   


Winn looked up from his computer. “I’m an Agent? I’m not combat trained.”

 

“Oh, that won’t be what you have to worry about. You may never leave your little command center while you’re on the job,” Hank said. The young man visibly relaxed. He packed up.

 

He spoke up as he and Alex walked out. “So you two aren’t fighting anymore?”

 

“No. And Winn, sorry if you’ve lost sleep over this.” She squeezed his shoulder. He winced a bit.

 

“Oh…just some tears and long nights throwing up over fear of being a felon. Kind of glad Kara took me here now. Hank talked about renting me a loft and “adopting me.” It’ll be my first time having privacy since I was a kid.” He smiled a bit.

 

She forced a smile as he walked ahead a bit. Her non-work phone rang. She picked up. “Hey Mags.”

 

“You home?”

 

She whispered. “No. I’m actually at the school library doing some cramming…”

 

“Oh. Well, how about I bring you a coffee or two then—“

 

“Nah it’s fine I got some cold brew concentrate this morning. You keep your cute little butt home and how about this weekend I take you out to that Thelma movie?”

 

“You know the way to my heart. I’m game.”

 

“Okay. Love you.”

 

“Love you too.”

 

Alex hung up and looked at Winn. “Does James know?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“I’ll need him to sign a few documents. His mom know?”

 

“No. She just thinks I needed some time away from foster home drama.” He frowned. “You lie so easily. Aren’t you afraid of what that can do?”

 

“I don’t think about it anymore.”

 

“That’s not better,” he said. He held his bag to his chest.

 

“Maggie has no need to know.”

 

“She doesn’t, fine. What about your mother?”

 

Alex glared at him. “That’s enough.” He held his hand up in surrender. 

She got him home without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be more Lena/Kara-centric


	14. Gay Panic (noun)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One early morning Kara develops an inkling of what a gay panic is. 
> 
> Oh and Maggie is Lena's gay mentor. What else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitch I am so hyped. I don't know what for but I am.

Kara yawned as she walked onto the pool deck. She was about to make a beeline to the locker room when she noticed a small figure swimming laps in one of the two lanes set up.

“Hey!” She called. The person came up at the deep end where Kara stood. Kara barely recognized Lena with her hair up and blue goggles over her eyes. “You swim?”

“I do a lot of things.” Lena got out and sat on the deck. Kara took her clothes off there, wearing her one-piece suit underneath. Lena watched the water ripple gently.

“You must’ve been up early.”

“Yeah, the janitor let me in.” Lena shrugged.

“First time someone beat me in.” Kara put on her cap and took off her glasses.

“You have nice lashes,” Lena said, looking up at her.

Kara felt her cheeks go pink and she grinned. “Uh, thanks.” She nudged Lena. “Nice seeing you out of makeup for one day. Or did you bring your whole set up?”

“No, it’s a lazy gender-neutral day.” Lena stood up. Kara watched her as she wrung out her hair. She found herself oddly surprised. The one piece that hugged her figure gave Kara an easy sense of her shape the draping clothes Lena usually adorned did not give. Her belly was soft and her bosom just short of ample on her small body. Her legs were well toned but not quite muscular. She imagined they were that as the girl had to keep them strained in order to not fall head first onto the floor when performing on her trapeze.

Kara gulped as she ran her eyes along those thighs. The back of her knees were bruised but besides that, it was smooth and waxed porcelain skin. Kara without thinking felt her hands reach and brush over the ankle of the girl. Lena yelped and stepped away.

“U-um…”Lena was red-cheeked.

“Bug,” Kara lied quickly. “So…you wanna race?”

“You’ll win.” Lena grabbed her goggles she had tossed aside on the deck. She put them back on.

“Let’s test that theory, Miss Luthor,” Kara smirked. “Come on. Hundred breath. I saw you going hard.”

“Hm, fine.” Lena stretched, shoulders back. Kara looked more at her elegant and swan-like neck before looking at the lanes.

The two girls crouched, toes peeking over the edge and fingers wrapping just next to them. “One…”Kara mumbled, putting on her goggles. “Two…Three!”

They both hopped in, cutting through the water. Lena had to start with a gulp of air before being able to proceed. Kara was already making her way down the lane. She admittedly was a bit sloppy in the stroke. She was a fly swimmer for reasons of her powerful arms, not her quick legs. Most breath and freestyle swimmers did track offseason to stay strong. She lifted and did discus and shot put.

Kara peeked over and saw Lena. Rightfully, those legs that captivate the older girl were working hard. Hell, she had nice limbs altogether to move her body in the air without failure. Now they were doing the same in the water.

Kara had her ring on so she was still powerful, but didn’t have a hard edge over Lena.  Kara tapped the wall and turned in the water a few seconds before Lena did. She kept going and Lena wasn’t too far behind. Kara came up for breath and saw a body on deck. When she tapped the other side of the pool she simply kept going. Lena finished just a bit after her. Kara flip turned and kept going, refusing to lose to an amateur.

She looked over at Lena, the girl soldering on until the push off the indicate their final lap.

Kara came in first, but she came out of the water gasping almost as much as Lena. The younger woman flopped on the deck and sucked in the warm and moist air.

“Impressive.” Kara and Lena stumbled up, struggling with their wet feet on the tile deck. Principal Grant stood there, looking at her watch. “I didn’t know you were the athletic type, Miss Luthor.”

Lena blushed and cocked her head to the side. “Not quite. Swimming helps me with my asthma so I just do it a lot. And it gets boring being leisurely…usually just competing against myself. Couldn’t beat your best swimmer.” Lena laughed lightly while Miss Grant stared her down. “I’m going to change…”She took off her goggles and shuffled over to the lockers.

Kara went to her bag and retrieved her towel. She took her hair from her cap and shook out the wavy locks. “What do you have to say, Coach?”

“I was going to say I don’t usually see you hitting the grind lately. But then I noticed you were almost matched by a girl who falls about four inches shorter and probably forty-something pounds lighter…I have to say I’m a bit disappointed and impressed.”

“She’s not much for school sports,” Kara told her. She toweled off her arms and legs.

“Change your girlfriend’s mind for me?”

Kara nearly slipped on her way to her discarded bag and clothes. “What—I…huh?” She felt herself be ready to melt.

“Your friend that is a girl.” Cat Grant cracked a smile. “Just talk. Have her come to a practice maybe. After Lucy moved away we’re down a freestyle and breath stroke swimmer. And your leg muscles says you’re too many weeks away from doing that for us. She might reach the spot we need someone at first, not sorry to say it.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk.” She grabbed her duffel and went into the girl’s locker. She heard the shower going and Lena’s suit was closed into a higher level locker to drip dry onto the towel she laid underneath.  Kara looked into the small rectangular room with four nozzles per three closed off walls. She kept her eyes on the floor until she found a nozzle. She turned it and rinsed herself off, scrubbing her limbs and keeping her suit on. She kept her back to the nude girl, yet had this odd temptation to turn her head.

She put her hand on the wall. “Kara?” Lena called. Kara merely hummed in response. “Can you scrub my back? I can’t reach the middle and I’d rather not smell like chlorine all day…”

Kara sucked in a breath. She wondered why she felt uncomfortable. She showered with the other girls all the time. Some went full out while others just wanted to rinse their hair.

She turned around. Lena looked over her shoulder at her and flashed a shy smile. Kara felt her chest tighten and she wondered if this is how Lena felt when she needed to take a puff from her inhaler.

 _I don’t want to make her uncomfortable. She hasn’t exactly reacted the best to female touches. Though she asked. Might be more comfortable with me I guess._ She rationalized. Had to simply be fear of making Lena uncomfortable. She came closer and took the soap from the girl.

“You use men’s body wash?”

“Just when I’m outside the house. Usually, it’s vanilla sugar.” Lena turned to face the nozzle, eyes closed. Kara shook her head and squirted the blue soap into her palm. The blob slid around her wet palm until she could massage it to suds. She thanked Rao that girl got her lower back. She ran her hands over the mid-back and up to between the shoulders. Lena hummed. “Feels nice.”

“Good…”Kara took a bit, massaging the tension from Lena’s shoulders. “Do you swim a lot?”

Lena allowed it to continue. “I used to swim a lot at my old school. The dorms had a pool that wasn’t for the team but did have lanes. I’d usually have that was my exercise. Hard to jog and all that. But the warm and wet air is easy to manage when you’re tired. And it’s good for my joints after pressing into a bar.”

“Ah.” Kara stared at the nape of her neck. She had a birthmark partially hidden by her hairline. “Birthmark’s cute.”

“Oh.” The girl slapped her hand over the mark. Kara chuckled a bit. “I think my back’s clean. Thanks.”

Kara recoiled and bit her lip. Her eyes stole a glance at Lena’s backside before she returned to her own little spot. She turned off the water and put her towel on before pulling her suit off underneath.

She stared at her locker as she got dressed. Lena did the same really. The girl was combing out her hair before Kara peeked and saw what she was wearing. Pair of jeans, torn up plaid doc martens, army jacket with a popped collar over a gray v neck. She styled her hair with a simple ponytail.

“I like it,” Kara said. She buttoned up her white shirt and slipped her gray cardigan over. She pushed on her glasses and put her hair up in a bun. She put on her cute red dress shoes that gave her outfit a bit of a pop of color as she wore black pants as well.

“You look like you should be a teacher, not a student.”

“Ah, well.” Kara looked at her watch. “Let’s get some coffees from the machine in the cafeteria.”

“Aye-aye.” Lena stood up. The pair strolled to the yellow building. “You’re pretty quick. I almost forgot you were so good.”

“It’s nothing,” Kara brushed off. She chuckled. “Maybe I can show you my other sports.”

“I don’t think I could come close to you there.” Lena squeezed Kara’s bicep. The girl rolled her eyes.

“It’s whatever,” Kara smirked at the other girl. “You got some powerful legs from what I saw.”

“Eyeing me up, Miss Danvers?” Lena shoved her playfully.

“Well yeah, you do that to your rivals,” Kara smirked. They got the machine to see a half-awake Maggie glaring the white cardboard cup as brown liquid dripped into it. “Hey!” The girl jumped and turned to Kara.

“Hi,” she muttered and grabbed it. She blew on her coffee to cool it.

“Why are you here?” Kara questioned, brow arched.

“I had to retake a test in physics. She didn’t let me stay until the bell because she is the devil. Since I was up all night studying I needed coffee.” She looked at the two arm and arm. “You two?”

“Swimming,” they said in unison.

“Things got hot and wet, what I like to hear.” Maggie ignored the glare she got from Kara and the slow confused blink Lena gave. “Lena, can we chat a bit later?”

“Oh, sure. How about I give you a lift home?” Lena smiled nervously. The older girl grinned.

“Thanks. See you in the art wing. Tell Miss C I said hey.” Maggie strolled away from the two.

“What is your relationship like?” Kara looked down at the girl as she got her coffee.

“I drive her home sometimes. Came into her house once for hot chocolate.”  Lena shrugged and took her cup away and shoved the quarters she got as change into her pocket.

“Huh.” Kara blew on her coffee.

“You’re still my favorite,” Lena joked. Kara saw her quiet smile. What she coined when the girl had a wide grin but a quiet voice. It could melt even Cat Grant’s heart. “I’m just glad to have friends like you guys. Hell, having friends makes me so happy.”

Kara put a hand to her heart as the girl walked off. _My heart’s racing…I’m just worried about her! Her happiness means so much. She’s just like a sister to me._

 

* * *

 

Lena leaned against her car as Maggie strolled over. She flashed her dimple smile, looking a lot more chipper than she did in the morning. “You look confused,” Maggie said as she approached.

“Yeah. Wondering why you wanted to talk a little,” Lena said bluntly. They got into the car after tossing their bags in the back. Maggie stayed quiet until they were out of the lot and on their way.

“Just wondering how you were doing with your identity.  I feel like you talk about it with Kara, but I don’t know how much you can get out of talking to a straight girl about it.” Well, Maggie wasn’t so sure anymore what Kara was. Was weird a sexual identity?

Lena just shrugged. “I…know I will have to be covert and any of my relationships will be hidden. That doesn’t bode well so might as well be single in all means until I’m out of college.”

“That’s a way I guess…”Maggie shrugged. “I kind of feel it’s healthy for someone to get their first experiences around just coming out. Build confidence and find people who get you. I had the alliance and I fucked around my lowerclassman years. Then I took a class with Alex…girl fucking knocked me out. It took all I had to get her and I almost messed it up. But I know my confidence built was the ultimate factor in getting her.”

“I see.” Lena stopped at a light. “If you were as shaky as she likely was just figuring her sexuality…it never would’ve happened.”

“Not in time for us to be together before she graduated.” Maggie pulled out her cracked up phone. “Any girl catch your eye?”

“No…”She looked ahead. “I don’t really want to get into it.”

“Is it Kara?”  

“What!?” Lena struggled to not get distracted. Her cheeks turned darker than the blush already dusted on her cheeks.

Maggie smirked. “I won’t tell, but it is obvious to me.” She grabbed the aux cord and plugged it into her phone. “What to hear today?”

“You got any Scissor Sisters?” Lena pouted when the older girl just laughed.

“Nah, but I’ll see what I can get for next time. For now, I got either musicals or bops.”

“Musical.” Lena prepared to hear something from Wicked or possibly Heathers. She jumped when Science Fiction/Double Feature came on.

Maggie hummed along. “This is my only musical on here.”

“Why? Rocky Horror?” Lena rolled her eyes. She remembered Lex as a teenager once being grounded for sneaking out to see the midnight showing.

“You haven’t seen it have you?”

“…No. I honestly only know this and Time Warp because obviously.”

“Just a jump to the left!” Maggie whooped, smirking. “Lena,” she spoke warmly. “It’s a tradition I have with Alex. Our first date we went to the showing we have here at National Theater. We got whenever we can. I’ve seen it six times this year and I listen to all the spin-offs and original when I study.”

“You ever take the others?”

“We wanted to but didn’t want to drag Mon-el along. Kara’s been dying to go.”

“Let’s go then. It’s this Saturday isn’t it?” Lena spoke without hesitation.

“Well, yeah. It’s the anniversary show of it being shown at the theater. We don’t have the car to take all of us, though...”

“We can call and Uber. Get dinner before. I’ll pay tickets. It’s a musical so it’ll be what? Fifty a pop?”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “No…It’s a movie with actors playing around, interacting and acting similar to the actors on the screen. It’s like twelve. And dress up!” Maggie suddenly got really excited. “I can’t wait. I haven’t seen much of Danvers.” 

Lena pulled up to her house. Maggie’s aunt Tori was standing on the porch. Maggie grabbed her bag from the back, quickly hugged her. “Want to come in?” Maggie asked her.

“No, I have to get home. Thank you though.” Maggie smirked and climbed out. She looked in at Lena.

“I’ll have something for you that day. I promise.” She winked and jogged to her house.

Lena waved briefly at the woman she called Miss Victoria and then drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, the next chapter is going to be about them going to that show I"m sorry but I am a whore for that musical so hi hey it's gay culture didn't you know. 
> 
> Also, Kara is the jealous type. Continuing on that, just picture fucking Kara Danvers, miss athlete of the school with her fucking arms and her thighs and her jaw and everything else, coming out the water like a damn goddess. Lena would have a damn asthma attack. I would.


	15. Toucha Toucha Touch Me (I want to feel dirty)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Maggie take the group to a midnight showing of RHPS. Kara finds what jealousy is when the couple reveals another surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter but I really wanted this to happen for one reason: jealous Kara and imagining Alex Danvers in a tux dancing around the street singing Dammit Janet (a song that I oddly love).
> 
> I'm sorry if my love of it just ruined it. I figured it was a good way to put in some jealousy and just a bit of Kara's realization and prompt denial.

Alex grunted as her mother ran a comb through her waxed hair. Her neck bent at every tug and her scalp screamed.

Kara was behind them, using a curling iron in her hair. She had a trench coat on and a pair of gold boots. Underneath was her true costume.;

“How many times will this be for you Alex?” Eliza asked her daughter. Alex shrugged and fumbled with her bowtie.

“Seventh time I think.”

“I can’t believe this is the first time you’ve taken me,” Kara pouted. “It’s a staple of the culture here, right?”

“It’s a cult classic. You remember what that means, right?” Alex looked at her in the mirror.

“Large following.” Kara smiled as Alex nodded. Alex thought briefly how Kara in a way was like Rocky. Strong dope with blonde hair and a tan. Though she wasn’t dumb, just a bit dense to some social cues.

Alex winced again. Her hair was smoothed down and now all her mom had to do was get the comb out. “Ouch!” She touched the tender area that was just ripped away from. Eliza left the two be.

“I can’t believe you’re going this far out.” Kara chuckled.

“It’s fun to. Admit it.” Kara shrugged and pushed up her glasses. “Not taking them off?”

“If I do that with the curly hair and no glasses…people might figure me out.”

“Right.” Alex put her own glasses on and checked her phone. “Lena will be over with Maggie and Winn soon.”

“I can’t believe you got the whole group to dress up.” She opened her coat to look at the gold shorts and bikini top. It wasn’t her style yet Alex saw her feeling herself in it, small smirk and a move in her shoulders. It was comical to the girl, likely. Alex wanted Winn to do Rocky and for Kara to be Magenta, the most conservatively dressed character beside Janet pre-stripping, but the girl insisted she wanted to once she saw the gold. She also said it wouldn’t be a costume if she dressed as an alien. 

 

She also talked about how she never heard of Transexual Transylvania on Krypton. 

 

Alex slipped on her polished dress shoes and slipped her wallet into her back pocket. She smiled as she pictured Maggie in her baby blue skirt and jacket. She knew she was about to mess up any makeup the girl did. 

 

Kara squealed, taking off her jacket and running downstairs. Alex nearly fainted and chased after her, throwing the jacket over her. “Nope!” 

 

Kara pouted and opened the door. Winn was dressed as Edie, down to the pomp. He stepped in. Maggie followed behind, holding a white vegan leather clutch and struggling to walk in her white heels. “I miss my Magenta outfit,” she mumbled after being caught by her girlfriend. She saw how Alex looked and just froze. “Damn...Danvers…” 

 

Alex hummed and kissed her forehead. “Feeling’s mutual.” 

 

Kara smiled at the pair, only to squeal loud enough to scare everyone. “YOU’RE SO CUTE!” 

 

She had Lena, the girl was dressed as the maid Magenta, in her arms. She had the classic red and her hair was frizzed as she couldn't imitate the tighter curls the original actress had. Lena was pure red in embarrassment, held up like a child. "You'll ruin my makeup," she whined as Kara nuzzled her. The trio chuckled at the pair. 

 

Maggie just stared knowingly at Lena. She was the only one who had been openly confessed to. Lena shook her head, silently indicating the torture.

 

“Put her down now L’il Danvers,” Maggie chuckled. Kara pouted and dropped the girl. “Now let me see this Rocky.” 

 

Kara opened her jacket and got dead silence. Lena felt her soul leave her body and she hid behind Winn. He was pink in the cheeks and acted more interested in his fingerless gloves. Kara was n her Supergirl pose. She had the tight shorts and the top. Alex first suggesting binding but Kara said she would rather genderbend than half-ass drag. She had the body type. 

Maggie was a bit ashamed as she stole a glance at the girl's abs. Though Lena was shamelessly getting a side glance. 

 

“Al...can you two trade?” Maggie said to avoid being scorned for her oogling. 

 

“No, she has the body type for a female Rocky.” Alex crossed her arms as Kara flexed her right arm, muscle popping. She was proud, knowing she was the shit in the outfit. It was surprising as she usually had little confidence. 

 

“I’m not going to survive this,” Lena muttered to Maggie. 

 

Maggie changed the subject, speaking a normal volume. “You do look simply adorable. But I like the smokey effect of your makeup. I never could do that.” Maggie pushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. Lena smiled a bit. 

 

“Thanks.” Lena hugged her with one arm. Maggie rested her chin on Lena's head. 

 

Alex held back a growl and pouted to her sister. Kara didn’t look too pleased either, but that was beside the point. 

 

“Let’s go! We have to meet up with my Riff-Raff.” Winn smiled, ready to see his boyfriend in the butler tux. 

 

“You should’ve gotten him to be Frankie. We look stupid without the front man,” Maggie said. 

 

“Lena shoulda done it,” Kara said. 

 

Maggie whispered to Lena. “Yeah, and you could call being all over her just playing the part.” The girl squeaked and her cheeks were pink. Maggie chuckled while Kara seemed simply confused. 

 

“Let’s go, children,” Alex said. “Our Uber is less than a minute away.” She threw the trench to Kara. 

 

Everyone left in front of Lena. The girl sucked in a breath, knowing this would be the longest night. 

 

* * *

Kara shifted in her chair. She tried not to scratch at the lipstick on her cheek. A man in a corset asked her if this was her first time there. She said yes and then he took out a tube of ruby red lipstick. He drew a V on her face, and Lena’s and Winn and James. But poor Lena was taken by the man for the pre-show “virgin humiliation.” 

 

The emcee was a woman. Maggie had explained the guy who took Lena was likely the Frank-N-Furter actor. The emcee was dressed normally and was simply explaining the rules as of the moments. The props get thrown backward, the water guns should only have water in them. Don’t throw things at actors and the actors will interact with you in character but have every right to have you escorted out if feeling harassed of unsafe. 

 

Oh, and masturbation was allowed in the last row in the back. 

 

“This isn’t like the other movies you’ve taken me to,” Kara whispered to her sister. Alex just chuckled to her. 

 

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Alex hummed. She held her girlfriend’s hand. Maggie whispered something in her ear. “Dammit, Janet. I love you,” Alex singsonged afterwards. Maggie kissed her cheek. 

 

They watched the emcee go along the line of ten virgins. “Okay, this is going to be a little competition. I’m looking for the best fake “oh” face here kids!” She shouted, yet she already had a microphone. “Moaning is allowed and I do recommend you finding that special someone in the crowd.” She went down the first three before it was Lena. “Okay, what’s your name here darling?” 

 

“Lena,” the girl said shyly. 

 

“Pretty name,” the emcee said. She put a hand on her shoulder. “Now I see you got your little V. You scared?” 

 

“No…” Lena straightened up. 

 

“You should be.” A bit of scattered laughter. 

 

“How old are you?” 

 

“Sixteen?” The girl looked up. 

 

“Well I guess this is going to be your first oh face, huh. I must say I’m honored to cause it.” A bit more laughter. Kara gripped her armrest. “Well, Lena. You know the drill by now. Find that  special person in the crowd, look at them, and give us your best “oh!” face.” 

 

Lena put her hands to her sternum. Kara swore she made eye contact with her before letting out a gasp and “o-oh! Yes!” Her eyes were screwed shut and painted lips parted. She let out a fake moan that was way too convincing. 

 

The emcee paused. She stage whispered, “meet me after the show.” She winked and moved on. 

 

Lena returned to her seat next to Maggie. Kara looked at her sister. “That emcee can’t do that.” 

 

“She’s legal and it’s not like Lena’s your girlfriend.” Alex dipped a hand into the popcorn Kara held. The older Danvers sister was a bit surprised when the bag was shoved into her lap and Kara was sidestepping to a new seat.

 

Kara moved to sit on Lena’s other side, as she moved to not be next to a pair of strangers. Lena smiled at her. “Hey,” Lena whispered as the lights went down and the movie started.

 

“You’re not going to see that emcee later right?” 

 

“It was a joke, Kara.” The girl didn't look at her.

 

“Didn’t seem like it.” Kara leaned in, trying to be heard over the people shouting.

 

“It doesn’t matter to you does it?” Lena looked irate, head ducked and voice low. 

 

“Well, I worry about your safety.” 

 

“I don’t see how a woman flirting with me is dangerous.” Lena looked at her, a small glare. 

 

Kara shut up, watching the movie. She struggled to not get pissed now as she was covered in “rain,” rice and then got hit in the face by a piece of toast. She wanted to enjoy this and yet there existed this sour mood. She felt even worse knowing she was annoyed during an event her sister held dear. 

 

She looked over, Winn and James were watching the show, smiling and holding hands. Maggie and, however, were enjoying each other more than the film. Alex had her glasses off and mouth on Maggie's. 

 

She looked at Lena. The girl was smiling and tried to shout along with the experienced crowd members with their loud as hell sayings at certain scenes and lines. 

 

They got out after the show. Maggie insisted on a picture with the cast. The rocky looked over Kara. She was honestly more built than he was. He smirked and did a duck face while hanging off her. The Janet actress in the next shot let Kara hold her bridal style. 

 

Kara looked up and by the fourth picture Lena was gone to the side. The emcee was there, smiling as they talked. 

 

Kara took off her ring covertly and listened in. 

 

“...Just a maid tonight or is a hobby of yours?” 

 

Lena blushed. “Is that your way of asking if I’m a bottom?” 

 

“It could be.” The woman touched her shoulder. “Unless you’re uncomfortable. I’m just enticed honestly. You’re beautiful in a sultry adorable way. Remind me of myself when I was your age and saw the show.” 

 

“How old are you now?” 

 

“Just nineteen. I’m the alternating Frankie and Janet. I emcee when I’m not in a corset or bra. I’m Dani, by the way.” 

 

“I’d love to see you in costume…”Lena smiled as she got the woman to blush. 

 

Kara stepped over to them, deciding that was enough. She put an arm around Lena. “Babe, we’re going now," she said, remembering how Mon-el could use that to ward off any guys. 

 

Dani stared, confused.

 

“Oh you’re dating this." Dani looked at the scantily clad Olympian-like girl in front of her. "Well, I’ll just disappoint you kid...um, gotta go.” Dani frowned slightly. 

 

“She’s straight actually,” Lena piped. Dani looked at Kara. The woman just stuttered a bit.

"W-well..."

 

“Wow that’s a shock.” Dani perked up, ignoring Kara’s glare. “So what does that mean for you and me? I’m not straight as you can tell.” 

 

Lena peeled Kara’s arm from her shoulder. “Well does this theater have a backstage?” 

 

“Let me show you around.” Dani put her hand to Lena’s lower back. 

 

“Lena,” Kara warned. 

 

“I’ll meet you guys at the diner.” Lena looked over her shoulder. She seemed a bit timid. 

 

“Twenty minutes,” Dani instructed. She was smirking like the cat that ate the canary. 

 

Kara trudged over to the group. “Where’s she off to?” Winn asked. 

 

“The backstage,” Kara muttered. 

 

“Oh--that’s…”James trailed, shifting.  

 

Maggie smiled. “Well good for her.” She looked at her girlfriend who nodded a bit. 

 

“No not good for her.” Kara frowned. “What did you do Maggie?” 

 

They exited onto the street and walked half a block to the twenty four hour diner for some dessert. 

 

Maggie talked to Kara while her crazy girlfriend ran ahead, grabbing the light posts, twirling around them and singing “Dammit Janet." Probably the gayest thing the woman had done in a while. 

“I said she could build confidence by exploring her options," Maggie said.

 

“With a stranger?” 

 

“I know Dani,” Alex said, returning to her girlfriend’s side. Maggie smiled at her. Alex kissed her right ring finger where her promise ring was. 

 

“You planned this?” Kara stopped.

 

Alex shrugged. “I may have told her I had a cute lesbian friend I planned on bringing with me." 

 

“Right.” Kara sulked as they got seated at a table. They ordered and the waitress seemed a bit surprised by their costumes. Saying the boys were wearing makeup or fake blood, Kara had her trench opened and Alex was technically in drag. Kara got Lena a chocolate cream pie. The one thing Lena would cheat her diet with. 

 

James looked up from being fed a piece of chocolate cake by Winn. “Hey, Kara, what’s wrong?” 

 

“Just want Lena to be here,” she mumbled. “Sorry.” 

 

“I know. It sucks when the person you like is interested in someone else--”James started.

 

“I don’t like Lena that way,” Kara said, confused. “I’m just worried about this.” 

 

The two couples were quiet. 

 

“Do you all think I like her? I don’t!” 

 

“You like boys,” Maggie confirmed. 

 

“Yes, exactly. I’m just worried. I’m not jealous," Kara said to them and herself again, repeating her silent thoughts. 

 

Maggie fought a smile and nodded. She looked at her girlfriend as the older woman arched a brow. She took her hand and the woman dropped her expression. 

 

Lena strolled  in a few minutes later and sat next to Winn. “Hey Hey Casanova,” James piped. 

 

Lena blushed. “Right.” She took the piece of pie. “Thanks Kara.” 

 

“Don’t sweat it.” Kara stared down at her empty plate. She looked over to see Lena entering a new contact into her phone. “Dani’s?” 

 

“Yeah.” Lena smiled. “She’s actually sweet. I don’t know what you guys expected but she just showed me her costumes. I wasn’t about to do stuff with a stranger.” 

 

Maggie shrugged. “We just wanted you two to meet.” 

 

“Yeah, she mentioned being a friend of Alex.” Lena looked at Kara. “You okay?” The girl had a small pout that she dropped once she locked eyes with Lena.

 

“Yeah. I just never met her before. Didn’t know they were friends.” 

 

“School friends,” Alex said, shrugging. “My first semester we sat together in gender studies. She and I would share notes. Maggie’s met her and her ex girlfriend.” 

 

Maggie took off her gloves. “We could find you a new boyfriend next Kara.” 

 

“I really don’t want one,” Kara said without much pause. She sat back and adjusted her glasses. She was just glad at this point Lena didn’t do anything and that she wasn’t angry for her little stunt. 

 

But she felt this clawing feeling in her chest. It hurt almost. Like her heart was being suffocated. 

 

She recalled it similar to the feeling she had when she first saw Alex cry over Maggie. A hatred misplaced but in ways justified. A puzzlement towards this world as she was raised on an open eyed way where Rao chose your partner and one had no control of their gender or sex. 

 

Now she was here in this world of trial and error and emotional pain. A world where women, wonderful and brilliant women, like Lena are trivialized and broken hearted. 

 

They went their respective ways. Winn and James went to Winn’s loft, Alex and Maggie went to meet up with some other friends. 

 

Kara and Lena were left together, walking to Kara's house as Lena had left her car there. 

 

“You make a cute Rocky,” Lena told her. Kara smiled, adjusting her jacket’s collar.

 

“Thanks. The Janet actress said the same thing.” 

 

“It’s nice of you. A lot of girls hit on you but you never get rude. Better than most straight girls I’ve come on to," Lena told her. She absently rubbed her cheek as remembered one who slapped her. 

 

Kara shrugged. “Just because I don’t want them doesn’t mean I am null of being a decent person.” She felt her fingers brush Lena’s. Their pinkies hooked briefly and Lena smiled softly. 

 

“So you don’t want a boyfriend?” 

 

Kara shrugged. “After Mon...it’s shaky. I didn’t realize he was bad until you all opened my eyes. He did make me feel terrible. I wish nowadays I didn’t shed a tear over him.” She frowned. “Some people aren’t worth it, you know?” 

 

“Yeah.” Lena moved and their fingers slowly intertwined. “My hands are cold.” 

 

Kara smirked. “Right.” They crossed the street and strolled past a store window. Kara looked at the reflection. She almost saw a couple in the scene. 

 

Lena was looking at her phone. She was texting. Kara tried not to look but she caught it. 

 

**_It’d be cool to see you again maybe when I’m not in a maid’s outfit_ **

Kara then saw the reply as they stopped off at a bakery that was opened at three am and grabbed the last of their vegan brownies. Lena had passed off her hat and phone as she dug around in her pockets for a quarter. Kara saw the message flash on the screen. 

**_Dani: I mean seeing you out of it wouldn’t be too bad a sight_ **

 

The pain came back. Kara pondered the implications. Lena dating a girl, no a woman, several years older could have certain pressures or gaps in maturity. Though, Lena was sixteen now and Dani held no direct place of power over Lena. Lillian had no legalities to hold over Lena’s head. 

 

“So do you plan on dating Dani?” Kara asked as they returned onto the streets. 

 

“I just met her. We’re talking. That’s innocent. And why do you seem so invested?” Lena looked up at her. 

 

Kara looked at the girl’s lips, as she had a brown crumb on her red painted lips. She looked the girl in the eye. “We’re friends. I’m going to be curious. She is almost four years older than you as well. She was pretty sexual in her flirts so I’m jsut worried of you taking steps you don’t want to take.” 

 

Lena looked at her, brow arched. “How about you trust my decisions? I know Maggie had the idea of maybe me exploring a sexual side but I’m not interested in that.” 

 

“Tell that to Dani, not me then. Not like you’ll be flirting with me!” Kara punctuated the poor choice of words with a laugh. 

 

Lena stared ahead as Kara was more interested in her brownie after speaking. 

 

“Kara are you a virgin?” 

 

Kara stopped. She kicked up a chunk of broken concrete. “Barely not. I lost it to Mon-el a few weeks before you showed up.” Kara scrunched up her nose and closed her eyes. It was an honest disaster. He kept reassuring she was doing good but he kept making faces, making her so nervous it was just annoying, and by the end he had to escape out the window because Alex was knocking and he also had a closing shift at work to get to. “It was honestly the most unfeminist thing I’ve done. Shitty missionary sex.” 

 

Lena chuckled a bit. “That’s amazing.”

 

They got to Kara's house. Lena got into her car, putting the window down to talk to Kara. 

 

“Well I’ll see you monday. Because I will not be waking up until two tomorrow after tonight.” Kara yawned. 

 

Lena looked at her dash, the time indicating it was almost four in the morning. “Thank Alex for an amazing night for me?”

 

“Yeah. Tell me if you talk to Dani, okay?” Kara got out, leaning down so she was still looking at Lena. 

 

“I’ll keep you posted Miss Danvers.” Lena looked at her wheel as Kara went to leave. “Hey, Kara?” 

 

The older woman looked back in. “Yeah?” 

 

Lena put her finger to the window's button, ready to shut it. But before she did she quickly said, “Love you.” 

 

She shut it quick, almost pinching Kara’s nose. She pulled out, leaving the other girl looking confused. 

 

_ Platonic love. Lena's not going to be interested in me. I'm not her type. Veronica was feminine. Dani was sexually confident,  _ she mused to herself.  _But I don't want to be her type. I don't want her. I can't have her._

 

Kara got inside. Alex and Maggie had come home and were now passed out on the couch, cuddled up in pajamas. The young girl grabbed a few blankets and put it on the pair before going up to her bedroom and crashing after stripping down and putting on a t-shirt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The costume Kara has on is just um, something. Lena's kryptonite.


	16. I've Gotta Find You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In confusion, Kara blows off Lena. She can easily call it her biggest mistake from what ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently editing the next chapter so it should be up soon. Lex is in this chapter a bit and I honestly have no idea how Lex's character is typed, as this is pre-insanity. The focus is on creating a concerned yet stand-offish young man.

Eyes open quick, world recalibrating and blue eyes dilated. Kara looked around the cluttered room, a sense of familiarity with it. Her fingers pressed into the soft bed with the comforter kicked into a shell spiral. She saw the deconstructed PC in the corner and knew it to be Lena’s bedroom. The corners of her lips turned up.

 

She wanted to get up but felt mentally glued to remain on the bed. She watched the door as if she was expectant. But in the moment she was unaware of what she expected.

 

Lena came in through the door. The way she looked at her changed. Kara hungrily looked over those legs that peeked out from under her skirt. Kara held a hand out and the girl took it. “Hey,” Kara whispered. She felt like the sun was her heart, chest heavy and her body humming with heat and power. Hell her ears even burned as she started to come to terms that this was a blush.

 

It got worse for her as Lena giggled a bit and sat on her lap. Her legs hiked up her skirt as she straddled. Kara struggled to stay eye level with the other woman. “Hi,” Lena smirked, yet her cheeks were pink.

 

Kara smirked and flipped them so she was on top. “You shouldn’t make me wait,” Kara whispered. Lena touched her cheek.

 

“When have I made you wait. It’s always been you.”

Kara leaned into the touch. She turned and kissed Lena’s palm. Lena giggled again and wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. “Say it.” The touch sent more humming sensations through her skin. That power in her chest was not the sun but Lena. She elicited a new part of her. This was not physical strength but something deeper. Intangible and likely carnal.

 

“I love you.”

 

Kara, having heard it, knew what it looked like. There was no disconnect between her lips and the sound of the words. What was different that fear and surprise went to joy and wanting to taste the lips that spoke those words.

 

She had a slight grasp that this may not be the reality. It was too beautiful, too obscure…never explored.

 

So, she was able to act on those desires that made her feel so powerful and unlike any other emotion had. She leaned down and kissed her. Slowly, savoring every moment of the first kiss.

 

She rolled them, afraid of crushing the younger woman. She held Lena’s hips as the girl pulled away briefly and kissed her harder, slowly ravishing her lover. Kara felt her body go nearly limp as Lena’s tongue brushed her lower lip. She took a grasp of deep ochre colored locks, not yanking but to angle that mouth she was already addicted to.

 

They parted when Lena was breathless. Kara huffed slightly and loosened her grip on Lena’s hair. Kara yanked at the expensive blouse Lena wore. “Take it off yourself or see it be ripped,” she muttered against the alabaster neck she couldn’t wait to mark up. Her instinct wanted to make her claim the woman, drawing moans and whimpers.

 

“Kara…” Lena whispered, almost whining. Kara undid the buttons and kissed lower and lower. “Kara…”

 

Kara pulled away. “Mm?”

 

The girl tenderly stroked her cheek.

 

_“Kara!”_

 

* * *

 

Kara woke up with a jolt. She sat up quickly. “What!” She spat and glared at her sister that was a foot away from her bed.

 

“Get on your uniform. We’ll be late.” Alex walked away.

 

Kara sat there.

 

“That dream was….something,” she muttered. She shifted uncomfortably and looked at her phone. Winn has messaged her asking for a ride. “Alex we need to pick up Winn!”

 

“Alright!” Alex shouted from downstairs. They were alone in the house on this Saturday. It had been a week since the show.

 

Kara got dressed in her uniform and checked her phone. Lena had messaged her.

 

**_LLL: Dani just asked me out to dinner_ **

****

**_LLL: What do I do?_ **

 

Kara frowned a bit as she felt her heart pinch. She was beyond confused. The “love you” had fucked her up royally and now this dream…you don’t feel this way about friends. It is not normal.

 

Kara quickly replied.

 

**_Maggie would be more of a help to you._ **

****

**_LLL: Oh ok_ **

****

**_Sorry, and something came up. I won’t be able to see your routine._ **

****

**_LLL: That’s okay! I’ll see you Monday_ **

****

 She honestly didn’t have the energy to play that part for Lena. She sighed and put her street clothes on over her uniform.

 

She strolled downstairs. Alex was at the door lacing up her boots. “Morning,” Kara yawned.

 

“You were acting oddly before I woke you up. Like moaning in your sleep weird. Was it a nightmare?”

 

“Uh, yes. I didn’t expect to see what I saw.” Kara left it at that as they got into the Prius. Alex put on some music and they drove to Winn’s loft.

 

* * *

 

Lena put her phone down after spending the good part of an hour waiting for a reply from Kara. She huffed a bit and got her bag packed up to head to trapeze practice. Her mother had left a note that an emergency meeting with Lex called her away and that she might be back by the beginning of the week.

 

Lena didn’t count on it.

 

She grabbed her keys and strolled to her car. She had her phone synced, not wanting to miss Kara if she called on her half-hour commute to the gym.

 

As Lena drove a side road she had to break hard, a fear as the road was still wet from the early morning rain. A man had stepped out in front of her. The side of the road was his car with the hood up.

 

She rolled down her driver side window and he walked over. “Hello,” he greeted. “Sorry to stop you.” He looked normal enough. A middle-aged man with a soft smile and gentle brown eyes. He put his hand on her windowsill as he spoke. “My car needs a jump and you’re the first car in a while to come by. Can you possibly help me out?”

 

Lena tapped a thumb on her wheel and bit her lip. “Yeah…I don’t have cables though.”

 

 “I do! I just need you to pop the top and we both can be on our way.”

 

Lena got out, putting her hand in her pocket. She relaxed as she gripped the mace bottle. She used her free hand to lift the hood. She watched by cautiously as he connected the two ends.

 

“You put them on backward,” she warned. He stopped.

 

“Oh, suppose I did. Thanks.”

 

She silently cursed at his idiocy as they were color coded as to prevent this. He switched them around and after a bit, he tested to see if his car would start up. Luckily enough it did. With that, he came out and disconnected them.

 

“Thank you so much,” he said. He tried to give her some money, but she turned him down.

 

“I have enough. Just get home sir,” she mumbled. He smiled sheepishly and got into his car. She turned to get to hers, just to bump into a brick house of a man there. He smiled at her as he grabbed her shoulders.

 

“Come with me Miss Luthor,” he muttered. She kicked around and try to jab him. Nothing fazed him.

 

“Hey! Help!” She called. The man just looked at her. He didn’t seem horrified or surprised. He wanted this. He was the distraction.

 

She thrashed and attempted to kick the man in the shins or get her hand up to spray him. But her fighting made the can fall from her pocket and roll under her car. He carried her to a van just cross the way and threw her in.

 

She turned to scramble past him, but the door was shut in her face. She saw the van had a cage built in and the back no windows. There was a barrier of what she guessed was bulletproof glass separating the back from the front seat. The man got in front next to the driver and they were off.

 

She beat on the glass but ended up knocked to the floor of the van when they turned a corner.

 

* * *

 

Kara got back from her patrol. The sun had begun to set, and she felt groggy. She knew that she should plan on napping or working on homework before night. But instead, she sat next to Winn as he worked.

 

He had gutted a broken piece and was trying to get through it as he found it had nothing to do with the software. He stopped when his computer chimed.

 

“That’s the NCPD system,” he said to Kara. He pulled it up and Alex strolled over to look over his shoulder.

 

 

“Amber Alert: Lena Luthor…”Alex read the bit before losing her nerve to go on.

 

Kara felt her blood run cold and she went to to the door.

 

Hank was there to stop here. “Where are you going?”

 

“To look for Lena she’s—”

 

“You’re not going anywhere.” He glared at her.

 

“Look I know you want to prove your power, but I have someone I love out there! I’m going to look because I have advantages the Detectives won’t. You can either let me be or help me.”

 

He went to speak but her phone cut him off. She looked at her personal, seeing an unknown number. She answered. “Hello?”

 

“Hi. I’m Lex Luthor. Lena’s phone had your name as one of her recent messages,” the man on the other line spoke. His voice was urgent.

 

Kara felt her blood run a tad cold. The Lex Luthor called her. The man who had gone head to head with her cousin the media.

 

But right now, he was just a concerned brother. They shared the concern. “I’m her friend from school. I haven’t seen her, but I did get a contact from her this morning,” she said.

 

Hank glared at her as if he expected her to hang up. She brushed him off and walked back over to Winn and Alex. She covered the speaker and whispered, “it’s Lex Luthor.”

 

Winn swiveled over to his working computer and with a passing moment, he had the phone tracked. It oddly gave a location. Lex was about fifty miles from the city and approaching. They didn't expect that. 

 

“What do you need from me?” Kara asked him.

 

“I was just hoping…maybe she was with you. Lately, she’s been a bit off my mother’s radar.”

 

“She’s been out there since Lionel passed,” Kara confirmed.

 

“…yes. She took his death hard.” He sighed. “We know it’s probably a kidnapping. I guess I was just hoping she had come to someone with intentions to run.”

“She never mentioned that to me. Quite the opposite. She felt she had to stick around,” Kara said. She gripped the back of a chair. “I hope she’s okay…I was supposed to see her today.”

 

“They’re looking for her car right now. She never arrived at her practice with her coach.”

 

“Thank you for filling me in on this.” She focused on her breathing. “I hope she’s found. If you need to talk to me more, you can reach me at this number anytime.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll let you go I have a train to catch.” He hung up on her.

 

Kara looked at her sister. “I ignored her. I was the last person she contacted. What if she’s hurt?” Kara felt her breath quicken. The chair in her hand gave way, breaking as if it were made of Styrofoam and not metal.

 

Alex grabbed her by the shoulders. “Hey, we’ll find her. If it’s a ransom, they’ll be calling soon.”

 

“We’re not going to do a thing,” Hank said.

 

“This is a crime,” Kara countered, almost shouting.

 

“It’s not alien activity. In fact, the opposite. Lex is a spoken opposed to the alien migrants. It’s best we stay away and that you stay away Supergirl.”

 

Winn frowned. “But it’s a child. And you can’t guarantee this wasn’t alien. What if those who acted to harm her have alien affiliates? Some aliens have had to turn to illegal activity because actual jobs don’t hire those who can’t morph themselves to look human.” Kara stared down Henshaw after Winn’s last counter.

 

He grunted and turned his head to the side. “Alex get your fake credentials and round me up a half dozen. I want a sweep of the town as well in search of that car. Supergirl get into your street clothes. I want you to see if you can get anything out of Lex. He may be flippant to us but you’re a normal kid in his eyes. Agent Schott, I want you tapping into Lex and Lillian’s phones and their landline at the Luthor estate.”

 

“Aye,” Kara whooped as her sister simply nodded and walked off. Winn swiveled back to focus on his screen. Kara quickly changed. “Winn, I want to know when Lex enters the city.”

 

“You got it.” He didn’t even look up. “We’ll find her.”

 

“Of course.” Kara left the bureau, checking her phone to see Lex’s number and a message.

 

**_Noonan’s @ 8pm. We know what the other looks like_ **

****

She shivered a bit and had an inkling of why Clark was off-put.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I put in a warning about kidnapping in the tags? Or is it fine as it is? [


	17. What You Are To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forty-eight hours to give Lena's kidnappers what they wanted. Kara works to find Lena before it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Near death experience, but this is a happy ending story so just know Lena is actually going to be okay.

Kara strolled into the café. Workers were cleaning up, preparing to close in less than an hour. A handful of patrons were there. A man looking frustrated as he typed away at a laptop, a pair of teenagers chatting over their empty plates, and then in the back sat Lex Luthor. He sipped from his cup and stared ahead at the window all the way to the store. People would accidentally look in as they passed and Kara swore she saw one shuffle faster from Lex's stare.

 

She saw those determined eyes, the thinning hairline, and the immaculate suit and with that, she was able to march over without a pause.

“Just get in?” she asked, pulling up a stool and looking at him.

 

He put down his white paper cup and straightened his posture. “I got in a bit ago. I haven’t come to the house because I know they’ll be waiting to drill me. I’m likely a suspect.”

 

“Why so sure?” She arched a brow. He just smiled.

 

“Because in my family, whenever something terrible goes public it’s my fault. An old friend of mine is likely trying to find a way to blame me. He already turned my father’s death into an opinion piece on how I behave.”

 

“I remember seeing that article. I don’t see why this matters as your sister's still missing.” 

 

“Would you like anything?” He eyed her over. She wanted to glare, but acted stoic, acted unbothered.

 

“No. I’m not much for coffee.” She adjusted her letterman jacket. “What do you need to know?”

 

“I saw she was talking to this girl named Dani. Do you think she’s just off with her?” Kara felt wary, not knowing how Lex felt about his sister’s sexuality. Did he think Kara to be Lena’s girlfriend? What exactly was Lena saying to Dani?

 

Kara paused. “No…she would’ve been messaging me about it. She and I try to communicate quite a bit. No pressure to do so, just naturally talk.”

 

“I saw their relationship was romantic.”  He pulled out his sleek black phone and slid it over to her. SHe saw logs of texts. She looked away and felt like lava slid down the line of her spine. It was flirting back and forth. Dani sent some raunchy photos. 

 

“I don’t know the manner. I was there when they met but as far as I know, all they’ve done is talk. Dani’s a nineteen-year-old girl barely taller than Lena and probably doesn’t weigh much more. She couldn’t hurt someone like Lena. Physically.”

 

“You know don’t you?” 

 

“I’m sworn to silence about it, but yes I know Lena was romantic with a member of your elites and it’s why I was able to meet a girl like her.” Kara stayed cool, but on the inside, she was freaking out on just where Lena was. And him saying he was the first suspect made her suspect him now as well.

 

He sighed. “You are close.” He stood up. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

“I’m more comfortable staying her.” He arched a brow.

 

“You ignore her name but you can’t ignore it with me?” He was the reason for that name’s connotation. But nevertheless, she had the goal to get Lena back above all else.

 

“She’s not the reason your name is off-putting.”

 

“You did look familiar…Clark’s kid cousin?” Did he know? Kara fought the urge to wipe the sweat from her brow. She refused to let him know the effect he had.

 

Kara chuckled and nodded a bit. “Guess that doesn’t help your trust in me.”

 

“No. I’ll get past your bloodlines if you can get past mine. C’mon?” He ushered to the door, smiling like an old friend. The smile felt familiar to her.

 

She sighed and turned on the recorder Hank made her have. It was small and sewn in to look like a button on her jacket. He left a sum of cash on his table along with his small white glass plate she had failed to notice.

 

“You’ve been hiding for a while?” He really acted guilty in all ways besides contacting her.

 

He changed the subject. “Did she indicate anything she was going to do?”

 

“She was nervous as she was a shed out by a girl. She doesn’t take females that well nowadays,” she explained.

 

“Yes, she’s been _trying_ to change her ways.” He emphasized trying and grimace a bit when he met Kara's eyes. 

 

“I would ask you how you feel about your sister’s sexuality, but I will leave that be because I don’t care for the time being. I just want her back.”

 

“Mutual feeling, Kent.”

 

“Danvers actually. Clark couldn’t raise me, so a close friend adopted me,” she muttered.

 

“You and Lena are both adopted.” It seemed interesting to him when it honestly was one little dot in the whole painting of why Kara and Lena were friends.

 

“Yeah bond really well over it,” she joked. He wasn’t too amused, so she returned to the clawing subject.  “You said you’re almost certain it was kidnapping.”

 

“Well, she’s the youngest of a rich family. They could exploit her for millions from my mother and me.”

 

“If she was, would you pay that sum?”

 

“I know the police will try to find her without the ransom. That usually causes chaos. I know they’ll likely just want money. Small chance they’ll harm her out of revenge.”

 

“Revenge for what?”

 

He kept walking, his polished shoes clicking on the concrete. He stopped as his phone rang. “Blocked number…here we go.”

 

He put it to his ear. Kara had her ring off so she could hear the other line.

 

It was muffled crying.

 

_“One million in unmarked bills. No dye packs, no trackers, no bait bills, unless you want to see your sister gutted like a fish. Forty-eight hours to drop the money. Come unarmed and alone. We’ll know.”_

“You’re an idiot where could I even leave it for you? How do I know that’s even my sister?”

 

Kara wanted to slap him for the brash reply.

 

Lex looked at his screen. He stared blankly at pictures of Lena tied up and gagged, tears running down her cheek showed up in a text.

 

Kara gasped. She covered her mouth as Lex glared. He wordlessly left her, stopping a taxi and getting in. He was talking to them intelligibly. Kara ducked into an alley and flew back to the DEO.

 

She stumbled in and almost fell as she slumped into a chair. Winn noticed her shaking as if she was stuck in a frozen tundra.

 

“Kara,” he said cautiously. He turned away from trying to track Lena via her phone’s GPS. He reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder, just to jump away when she shouted.

 

“We need to find her!”

 

Winn yelped a bit and got up to follow her when she stalked off.

 

“Kara you can’t do that alone.”

 

“You’re so wrong!” She stopped. “I know that heart. Unless they hid her in lead I can find her with just focusing on that heart.”

 

He paused. “Henshaw said you can’t act alone.”

 

“He’s not here. He’s a sitting duck because Lex has been in the city for hours and avoiding the authorities. They called him Winn. They want a million dollars within the next forty-eight hours. If something goes wrong Lena’s dead. I need to go.”

 

He frowned. “Kara—”

 

“Stop! What if it was James? Wouldn’t you do this?”

 

He went quiet. He frowned as she stalked off again. 

 

* * *

 

Lena woke up. There was no smooth and slow transition but a sudden jolt of consciousness followed by alertness even if she was currently facing a migraine thanks to whatever they gave her. They kept her under quite a bit. She would wake up in the same position she fell asleep in. They didn’t hit her and as time passed she came to realize she wouldn’t come into harm just yet.

 

She told herself that repeatedly. They wouldn’t hurt her if they just got what they wanted.

 

She leaned against the wall of the dog cage they kept her in. Her jaw ached from her gag and she rubbed over her wrists. They didn’t bind them now, but her feet were. The gag was kept on by a lock in the back as it was a modified version of a ball gag.

 

She wiped the saliva that gathered around her chin and jaw. She looked at the dial lock on the cage and cursed. Not even something she could pick. She couldn’t tell if they were lucky or that they have thoroughly been watching her.

 

“You’re awake.” She looked up and saw the same man that grabbed her. There had been several different individuals every time she woke up.

 

One had been the one that dragged her into the car. He put an ax to her throat and told her to scream. The other took photos of her. She got angry that she was being used to push Lex’s buttons. She knew they were going after Lex. Lillian would’ve hung up on them as a power move.

 

She felt foggy. The gag made it hard to breathe and being put out several times wasn’t helping. She pawed at her clothes. Her inhaler was in her bag. Which she supposed was in her car. She cursed silently.

 

She touched the gag. It kept her from using her mouth.

 

“It won’t come off,” he teased. She tried to control her breathing, so she didn’t panic.

 

She knew if she panicked she would likely pass out. And they wouldn’t know. She couldn’t tell them.

 

He looked at his watch. “Your brother takes his time.”

 

She turned away from him and tried to stay calm. She had to accept that Lex would save her. He was. She just had to stay calm until then.

 

She tried to stay breathing deep and slow. It failed when the man kicked her cage, sending her onto her side. She whimpered as the corners of the welding clipped her forearm. She studied the wounds and glared.

 

He smirked.

 

“Hey, he won’t be happy if she’s hurt!” the one that took pictures of her shouted. She had no idea where they were. The light they had on her didn’t extend past a small circumference. They were unknown unless they came to the light.

 

The man that grabbed her just chuckled. “Come on. I’m just having a bit of fun with the little priss.” He flipped the cage back.

 

She curled up and tried so hard to stay calm. Her mind was already foggy, and she put her head between her legs to combat the washing anxiety.

 

_Lex, please_

She put her hand on her chest. Her heart was racing and her fingers trembled as they splayed. The men left her be.

 

One shouted. “Twenty hours!”

 

It had been over a day…

 

She sat up, almost bashing her head into the top of the cage. She started breathing quick and that made her vision blur. Her lungs felt seizing and she clawed at the gag.

 

She needed it off. She couldn’t verbalize to them that she had breathing problems. They were nowhere to be found.

 

She collapsed onto her side. _I don’t want to die!_

* * *

 

Kara came home after spending the whole day searching. It was fruitless, and it had been thirty hours since the first call.

 

Lex and Lillian had the money but were held off. Kara had no idea why they were being told to hold. And of all times that a Luthor stopped being stubborn, it was life or death. She knew no one was counting on her.

 

She fell onto her couch and covered her eyes. Eliza was still at work. It was just Alex who was making them dinner.

 

Kara muttered in her native tongue, brought to prayer. She wished to be strong enough to find Lena. She prayed that the girl is safe. She begged Rao to have these stubborn humans to part and allow this harmless child to carry on and grow.

 

She sat up and walked to the uncovered window. She looked at the empty street, staring at the houses across from them. She frowned at her reflection and slipped off her glasses, placing them on a side table.

 

“Come eat. You’ve pushed too hard,” Alex told her.

 

“You think they’re letting her eat?” Kara looked at her. “I’m not hungry.”

 

“You? Not hungry?”

 

“Alex,” Kara warned. The older woman held her hands up and took her keys.

 

“I’ll be going back to work. Rest. Eat. Hear me?” She got no response. She sighed and walked out. She got into her car and Kara watched her pull away.

 

She stood in place for a few minutes before some odd force within her sent her in motion.  

 

Kara walked outside and walked the side streets. She stumbled onto the one where they found Lena’s car. She stood at the spot, side of the road. She sucked in a deep breath.

 

_What she must’ve been feeling…_

She shut her eyes, alone on the pavement. She practically could hear that speeding heart. She had almost trained herself to know when Lena was nearing a panic attack or an asthmatic episode. She frowned slightly.

 

She touched her jacket pocket. Lena had left an inhaler at their house. Kara stumbled upon it while digging for her spare glasses. She shattered her other pair out of anger. _Mon-el induced that panic that gave her an attack…what if this causes another? Do they know? Does she have an inhaler?_

 

Her eyes closed. One blind hope. No more divide and conquer…she needed a miracle. They both did.

 

Kara looked around before flying up, hovering a few hundred feet up. She focused her hearing. That breath, the heartbeat…like Lena’s own anxious melody.

 

She heard that endless chaos and had to dig through the different layers of it. Seconds, moments…a full five minutes before she had a singular heartbeat.

 

Rao it was racing. From the heart, she went to those lungs. Straining. Weak.

 

Her eyes went wide, and she bolted off. She clicked her earpiece. “Supergirl to Bureau,” she almost shouted.

 

“Supergirl we hear you, over,” Henshaw spoke.

 

“I need medics to my nearing location. Where I land is where I suspect Lena Luthor to be held.”

 

He paused. “Agent Schott sees near your route an old army base. Can we confirm this is where you’re headed?”

 

“Yes!” She was getting agitated.

 

“I need you to turn around.” It was Alex.

 

“Why?”

 

“We suspected Vartox to be in a location of large space. I feel this is partially his doing,” she said.

 

“I need to go! I don’t care if he’s there Lena’s dead if we don’t get to her!” Kara sped up.

 

She crash landed through a ceiling. She landed right in the middle of three men.

 

Two brandished guns while the other held an ax. She stared blankly as instinctually they shot at her. The bullets flew off as if they were rubber hitting steel. She smirked and wretched the weapons away.

 

One swung, screaming as his bones gave way before Kara’s jaw did. He sank to his knees, cradling his hand.

 

“Where is she?” She said darkly. She looked at Vartox. Even if he wasn’t the leader, he was the true challenge here.

 

“I’m not dying for this,” the other human yelped, sprinting away. Kara didn’t chase, knowing her backup would get him.

 

She looked at Vartox. “I didn’t realize she had any value to you,” he chuckled. Her fists clenched.

 

“Tell me where she is,” she shouted, stepping up. He aimlessly twirled his ax, cocky as he almost killed her last time.

 

“People will pay a lot for her. If not her brother, someone else.” He smirked. “And I won’t let you get in my way. You’re easy to snap kid. You Kryptonians think just because you have that yellow sun and a bit of eloquence you fucking rule the universe. That is why you’re the last daughter of it. That arrogance that kept them from seeing they were taking more than their fill!”

 

“You won’t get to me. It won’t work!” She growled and charged at him. He went to swing at her side just to fall short. She was quick in delivering a hit to his jaw. He stumbled back, holding his cheek. She tried to control her breathing. She couldn’t lose herself. What he said had to be left behind.

 

_But how dare him. He knows nothing! Nothing of my past and nothing of what Lena is!_

 

Blood ran from his mouth a bit and he spat it away. “You bitch!” He moved to swing. She side-stepped him and grabbed just under the blade. They wrestled about to wrench it from the other’s grasp.

 

 _“Supergirl your heat vision just might destroy it,”_ Kara barely heard in her ear. She growled.

 

“Just get here!” She had one concern. Get Vartox debilitated and get to Lena. Everything else was Hank and Alex’s problem.

 

She was flipped by him. He swung down, and she knew a hit would kill her surely. She stopped it by grasping the same spot she had held. She angled her vision on the blade. It turned a brilliant orange and they both felt the heat. He hissed in pain but persisted. She could smell burning fabric and hair. Drops of metal fell and landed on her sternum. She screamed in pain but had to go on.

 

He leaned in to push it down. She struggled it keep it up as she struggled to get it to be destroyed rather than harmed.  

 

Her ears caught that heartbeat. Slowing…

 

She panicked and felt a new vigor. She screamed, “you can’t have her!” The blade shattered, and he fell back. She stood slowly. The blood in her veins pumped a bit quicker, felt hotter than the metal beads that glowed red still as they fell from her chest. She knew the flesh was screaming but adrenaline that made her tremble also shushed those crying blisters freckling under her harmed family crest. She panted and glared at him. He reached for a shard.

 

“I’m not going back,” he growled. “To that hell, that place your mother tried to send me!”

 

She stepped up but was too late as he impaled his heart.  She stepped over him, panting not from fatigue but frantic panic.  She bolted off, the layout clear.

 

She found the cage, the girl curled up and bleeding. Gagged.

 

_Fools! Oh, Lena…_

 

“Lena,” she whispered. She opened the cage, ripping away the locks. She pulled the girl out and cradled her in her arms. “Lena!” She put her ear to her chest. “No, no, no, no—Not you too! Lena, not you.”

 

She placed the girl down and promptly began chest compressions. “Come on Lena,” she gasped. She tipped the woman’s head back and breathed into her mouth. She moved back to compressions.

 

Soon agents came in. Alex slid next to Kara. She then shouted to those around her. “Medic! She’s nothing breathing!”

 

Kara ignored her, focused on performing the compressions. “Please…Rao don’t take her,” she whispered.

 

Two medics came in. “Supergirl, we can take it from here,” one said. Alex had to pull Kara away.

 

“Please!” Kara cried. She felt that damned drug tapered off, making her collapse. She was panting and fought a sob. Alex held her tight.

 

“Shh, Kara she’ll be okay, shh,” Alex whispered as they were left alone. She looked around the dimly lit warehouse. The cage had been torn apart like it was chicken wire.

 

Kara stood, almost collapsing. “I want to go with them,”

 

“You can’t. Let’s go home and get you changed. Then we can go to the hospital.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't just ignore Vartox. 
> 
> I'll be putting up the next chapter likely in the next like twelve hours. I need to work on some edits as it had several versions I had to pick from. Thank you for reading.


	18. Too Much I Don't Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara stays by Lena's side in the hospital, no matter the cost.

Kara paced around in the waiting room, her friends watching from their chairs. Winn had come as he knew. James brought Maggie as Kara told them that she found Lena and that was being checked out.

 

Winn was working on his tablet, looking around ever so often and sat two chairs away from Maggie.

 

They got Lena breathing again, and right now all they had to do was keep her for observation. She had a few deep cuts, terrible bruising and a cracked rib.

 

_“It’s because Supergirl performed CPR on her_ ,” Lex told them. His mother was glowering next to him. They already had their hatred placed and this didn’t help.

 

Maggie about screamed at them but held off until they were gone. “She would be dead if it weren’t for you and all they can do is dwell on their fucking prejudices and what furthers them. The audacity.”

 

It was a tense sort of quiet after she said it. Kara shrugged helplessly. Her shoulders felt like her blazer had anvils for shoulder pads.

 

“Maybe you guys should head home,” Winn said. Maggie looked confused.

 

“Why do you get to decide that,” she snapped. Alex tossed him her keys. “What are you doing—"

 

“Kara and I are hanging back,” Alex said. She got a glare from her girlfriend. “Mags.” She pulled her close and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s okay. I’ll update you guys.” She lowered her voice. “No way Kara’s going anywhere but she can’t be alone. Go on. It's late and sadly Lex won't let anyone he hasn't met near Lena. ”

 

That got the trio out of the way. Maggie strolled past, grimacing. Winn and James gave Kara a hug. She gripped them tightly, making them simply grunt as she had her ring on.

 

“She’s suspicious,” Kara said to Alex. Alex sighed.

 

“I know…but she has no reason to know. James didn’t until he became Winn’s safe house.” She hated having to lie to her girlfriend, but she couldn't justify disclosing her secret "internship." 

 

“I panicked,” Kara muttered. It was late in the night so they were alone in the stuffy room. Most people had left or opted for a late night at their loved one’s bedside.

 

Kara dwelled on what Lex said as she turned on her heels to make a pointless walk. She glared at the broken vending machine as she happened upon it. The light was broken so it still served. It was out of most things. She stared down the last pack of powdered donuts before hating the idea of eating anything. She turned away.

 

He was in ways right, Lex. It was a simple few stitches on her cut arm and a checkup, she’d be home. But they had to perform x-rays. The medics said Supergirl’s action helped prevent brain damage, but she still dwelled that she caused damage. Alex tried to stop her from feeling guilty, but it stuck.

 

It was a bitter truth, really. Lex Luthor being right. Lena Luthor? She was a woman who was right so often one just stopped doubting her. But Lex Luthor? One would ask a second opinion if he told you it was raining as you both stood outside being terribly soaked to the bone.

 

Lex came out hours later. He was holding two cups of coffee. He passed them to Alex and Kara. He wasn’t a smooth talker but he had a sense of etiquette. “Tell me, why do you know an FBI agent Miss Danvers?” He looked at Alex, recognizing her as the young woman who grilled him. The woman simply glared, biting about five different retorts that could prompt him having her shown out.

 

“This is my older sister. She’s close to Lena as well.” Kara motioned for Alex to step up. She naturally stayed back, arms crossed over her chest.

 

He stared. “…I see.” He fumbled with his hair, running his fingers through it as he sighed, as if so disinterested with anything the girls had to say,

 

Alex fought a groan as she knew they would get nowhere and Kara wouldn’t see Lena at this rate. She swallowed her pride and standards. “With all due respect, I will see you not as a suspicious man if you don’t see me as an agent. Can we agree on that and can you please tell us what you know? Kara here has been up for as long as you have, worried for Lena. She refuses to go home unless she knows,” Alex piped, stepping past her sister to ignore her steely glare.

 

He looked a Kara. “Come with me to see her. My mother has gone home as she was quite tired. I must go soon. Can I trust you with her until she’s discharged tomorrow?”

 

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. She looked at Alex. The woman silently turned and headed for the exit. Kara mused how the hell was she to get home if she gave her Prius keys to Winn. Then it hit her that Alex likely had at least a dozen forms of on-road transportations she is one call away from. She called herself an intern but Kara knew she had more pull. Hank had other “interns” that were runners for him. Alex wasn’t that.

 

“Good. I’ll remember your loyalty.” He put his hand on her lower back, and Kara wished that she had requested Alex come with them. He paused. “Quite muscular.” _Yeah, I can break your nose if your hand goes one inch lower._

 

She stepped from his touch and went into the room. Lena was sat up. She wore a pair of sweatpants under her gown and her hair was down. She smiled sleepily at Kara. “I lived,” she said, voice hoarse.

 

Kara wanted to break down there, mentally praising her god and this earth’s many deities.

 

“Lena!” Kara ran and hugged her. She was careful, conscious to hug Lena at the neck and not the midsection like she liked to do. “Oh, thank god you’re okay…” She felt tears brim in her eyes. She had fought them off as Supergirl, but to have Lena back in her arms and breathing, she couldn’t handle it. Anxiety turned to relief within a flip of wonderful, wonderful switch that was Lena’s low voice and a small smile.

 

“Kara, don’t cry…” Lena chuckled a bit, tiredly and almost putting a hand on her side as it hurt a tad. “I’m okay.”

 

“Your heart was stopped…” Kara trailed off. She couldn’t confess that she was terrified of a world without that heartbeat.

 

“It’s going now. Feel.” Lena put Kara’s hand to her neck. She felt that steady pulse.

 

Kara retracted her hand as she felt almost an electric current. That was dangerous. These are such dangerous reactions. These tears, that touch…fuck when was the last time she’s felt so attached? “Lena…”

 

The two girls paused, as Lex was lingering in the doorway.

 

“Friends?” He teased his sister. She glared at him. “Kara, I don’t care what or who my sister does, I must say. As I believe women like her should practice free will. So, have you been lying to me?”  
 

“No. We’re friends,” Kara said quickly, uncomfortable quite visibly.

 

“Alexander,” Lena warned. He held a hand up in surrender.

 

“Kara, I want to thank you—” He was speaking with his hands, waving one lazily as if he was performing a little spell.

 

“No need.” She looked down at Lena. He bristled and Lena was the only one to notice. She was amused yet also nervous as she had seen Lex’s immature behavior when he felt like he was being disrespected. It had cost millions accumulatively. Lionel once said to Lena, _“his pride will one day kill someone.”_ He laughed it off back then.

 

“Don’t cut me off,” he went on. He reached into his suit jacket. He pulled out an envelope.

 

“I don’t need money.”

 

“Oh, don’t be so noble. If you don’t want it just use it to spoil my dear sister, hm?” Lena stared at him with no smile or glare. Her head was simply angled down with her chin cocked up. He shifted and made his way across the room.  He put it on her coat. “Now I have a flight to catch.” He walked over and kissed his sister’s forehead. “You stay out of trouble.”

 

_I should say the same_ , she mused.

 

“No promises.” He walked out.

 

“I’m not going to use that,” Kara said to Lena. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you for your money.”

 

“He’ll just be mad if you don’t let him be nice. Do as you like.” Lena shrugged. She had come to realize Kara didn’t have much care for money in their friendship. Saying she had tried to treat it like they were both simply teenagers. They split checks, alternated who paid, and hell Kara would try to buy Lena things such as little trinkets she lingered on at boutiques or drinks. Lena would flip and insist not but Kara would just shrug it off.

 

Kara rested her forehead against Lena’s. She felt breathless. She sucked in a breath. Lena smelled sterile, but the vanilla sugar shampoo she used just barely poked through the smell of 91% alcohol and anti-bacterial soap. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

 

Lena sighed a bit. “I owe Supergirl a lot. I wish I saw her…I just heard about what she did for me. I didn’t actually see her,” Lena said. She took as deep a breath she could before exhaling and speaking. “It was weird, dying. I don’t believe in a god, so I don’t see myself having anything at the end. But, there was something. I was warm, but not burning. So maybe it wasn’t hell? I don’t really know. I just felt…happy. I didn’t see my dad. People usually say someone comes to them and goes on how it isn’t their time. I didn’t have that. It was very brief.”

 

“They’re fucking idiots to have gagged you,” Kara muttered. She felt disturbed as a bit of happiness came from Vartox’s passing. Still, what he said…of her and her people. She shivered a bit.

 

“I didn’t realize that was released.” Kara tensed but had to loosen up. She was almost pressed against Lena. The girl could likely feel almost every movement.

 

“I…Lex…told me. I mean he called me. Wanted me to know. I don’t…understand why really,” Kara said quickly. Lena nodded slowly.

 

“I’m surprised he didn’t block you out once he found out you’re Clark’s cousin. They really hate each other. Ironic as hell that we’re so close.”

 

Kara rolled her eyes. “If we’re so close what’s my favorite food?” She would’ve nudged Lena if she wasn’t so afraid of hurting her more.

 

“Trick question. You’re indecisive between pizza and pot stickers.” Lena smirked.

 

“You are better for me than any man,” Kara joked. Lena rolled her eyes. The younger girl chuckled and Kara looked down at her. She was afraid to brush some hair away from Lena’s face in that moment. Too much energy, too much joy, too much…this was all too much. She looked off. She focused on the generic watercolor print of purple daisies they had on the pale wall.

 

“That’d be the day.” Lena lied back. Kara moved and fluffed up her pillow for her.

 

“I’ll be here with you. I promised I would.”

 

“You don’t have to just because Lex asked…”

 

“I didn’t promise him. I promised myself.” Kara struggled to act like she didn’t see the blush come up on Lena’s cheeks. She thought back to her dream. The cute blush had been in that dream, but deeper in color.

 

Too much. She looked at the flowers again. Pretty innocent flowers. Mediocre in its creation and likely in fifty other rooms. But lovely, so distracting and lovely.

 

“Get in here with me. You must be exhausted.”

 

Fuck that would be way too much. But that dream was just weird. Kara had had one kind of like that with Maggie. That meant nothing. She woke up and felt nothing towards Maggie beside platonic feelings.

 

“I’m okay,” Kara said. She fought to keep her eyes fully open. She had spent the past two days without anything more than maybe a twenty-minute nap. But still, she knew that bed would give her little sleep. She would replay that dream, worry, shift and probably wake Lena, soothe her back to sleep, look at her face, think about that dream, worry…

 

_Ugh! Get it together!_

 

“You’re a terrible liar.” She scooted over in bed. “Please? You know I don’t sleep well without something to cuddle.” She pouted a bit.

 

“We need to get you a better bear.” As a joke, Kara bought her a stuffed bear. It actually worked to let Lena sleep. The girl blushed at that right now.

 

Kara blinked hard, screwing her eyes. She yawned to cover it.

 

Kara untied her dress shoes and placed them under a chair. She carefully climbed in, not wanting to bump Lena’s side. The girl cuddled up to her, unaware that when Kara held her she was cautious as if she was holding a butterfly. She didn’t know that this was too much.

 

Her exhaustion reared its head. Grabbed her by the hair and muttered that she had to sleep no matter how much she was panicking. Because why is your best friend making you panic?

 

Lena looked up at her. “You look like you have something to say…”

 

Kara shut her eyes. Her heart clenched, and she let out a shaky breath. “I don’t.” She looked at Lena. “I’m just in shock. I spend so much time with you and I never thought that had a time constraint.” That was way too much!

 

She winced, expecting something negative.

 

“Wow, you’re the one here having a mortality crisis?” Lena snorted. Kara just looked at her.

 

“I just was proven again you mean a lot to me. A scary amount.” Yeah, the surface of it was scary. “It felt like I was losing a family member and not a friend.” _Family member? Fuck Alex doesn’t make me like this. I would honestly kill myself if she did._

She shifted. _Okay Danvers that was dark_

 

Lena looked down. “Right.” _Wow, what a way to go. A family member…Lena you fucking master_ , she mourned internally.

 

 

Kara nodded slightly. “And Lena?” She spoke sleepily, so close to passing out.

 

“Yes, Kara?”

 

Kara bit her lip. She wanted to echo that dream just non-sexually. To ask Lena to say it again. But her cells whispered to not. Her logical fucking head, recovered from its adrenaline high but also drowsy and illogical, made her speak just a bit more before letting her succumb to sleep.

 

“Love you too.” Then she was out.

 

Lena stayed in place, afraid to speak. She looked up and saw the woman had fallen asleep with her glasses on.

 

Lena moved and took her glasses from her face, placing them on her table. She pushed a lock of hair from the older girl’s face and smiled softly. She knew that was a platonic return.

 

It was rather audacious of her to go on like this. She knew she wasn’t being subtle if Maggie knew. Was Kara just in denial to not see it or purposefully ignoring it so that they can go on as friends?

 

She shifted up, looking at her friend. Only friends she had to say as she looked on that supernaturally beautiful face. It was brash, but part of knew that if Kara was in any form queer, that she would’ve made a move. The trust they held, the way Kara made her heart race…she was ashamed how sure it was.

 

Her eyes traveled down from the scar between her brow, along with her adorable nose that sat between two eyes as brilliant as young stars and just as burning with a passion for everything Kara did, though they were now drawn shut. She stopped at those lips that looked inviting. Part of her wanted to lean down and steal a kiss. That was the idiot part, the part that only got to come out around the friend group. The one that didn’t need everyone to be pleased. Funny enough, she had come to terms that part that she saw as flat-out dumb nowadays was her truest self. And it wasn’t just Kara that brought it out.

 

_No, you can’t. It’s not only wrong because she’s asleep but dangerous as she can wake any second._

 She rolled away and looked at the ceiling. Even though she spent most of the past day and a half knocked out, she felt drowsy.

 

She looked over at that ugly fucking watercolor painting and yawned.

 

She succumbed, trying not to be content in Kara’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this five times. It used to be a plot of Kara confessing her love, but that's premature because she hasn't even realized she likes girls like that. There was one where Dani comes in while Kara is about to confess (again too early) and reveals she's dating Lena (but then my fuckhead remembered this timeline is like one week since meeting Dani so they're just barely something if anything). Another Lena had a worse injury besides a broken rib that is just painkillers and time (the injury: sternum being broken so it would have to be either stapled, glued, or stitched) but that doesn't further the plot even if I wanted the aspect that Kara did injure Lena whilst trying to, you know, save her life. 
> 
> Just thought I could give an inkling to why my crazy ass never updates consistently.


	19. Be Our Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena gets a surprise visit from Supergirl. 
> 
> The group surprises Lena with a homecooked meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what the next chapter is. Guess children guess!

Lena got home the next day. Kara was gone when she woke up. She was slightly happy she was. To face her in the morning would’ve been hell. Kara was too cute to deal with in the mornings, whiny and cuddly. Lena swore that damn straight girl was going to be the death of her.

 

She was, naturally, alone. Lillian had signed off that she may leave without a guardian. Many nurses were wary of that, but of course, they obliged, for that hospital wing Lena was in only existed due to Luthor philanthropy.

 

The doctors just gave her painkillers and advised nothing strenuous. She should just rest they told her. They also recommended counseling for possible trauma and obviously her anxiety that triggered the attack that almost killed her. That did kill her. That was the worst news she had gotten. She needed to be doing things. Being alone with herself was a bit hellish if she couldn’t distract herself through maybe a swim or lugging her heavy setup to the other side of the room so she could finally finish it.

 

And she knew that the help he recommended wouldn’t be given. She had needed therapy since she was a little girl. But her mother would simply say it was nonsense and that they will just call her crazy because she’ll be smarter than the “doctor.” Lena had the passing through how her mother could benefit as well to cope with her anti-social disorder.

 

She got home and went right up to bed. She was alone for that day, as it was the maid’s day off and she wasn’t about to ask her to ruin that just so she had some help. Her friends offered to come over around dinner time to cook for Lena as she couldn’t raise her head to grab food. She said she would simply get takeout but James said that was ridiculous and that those who are sick should have people who care for them there to at least cook them something. That his father did that for him and his mother still did even though he was college bound. Winn nodded and said his mother did that. Maggie said that her mother and aunt did that. Kara talked about how Eliza would make her and Alex's favorite meals to lighten their spirits.

 

That did it. Lena caved and allowed it. Her mother bristled that she was having people over. “Especially boys,” she said. But it was allowed as she knew the girl couldn’t do much. But that was hours from now. She sat back in her bed for the moment, working on an essay and listening to the playlist Maggie made her called “Get Better Baby Butch.”

 

Tap. Tap. She paused. She lifted her left cup of her headphones. Nothing. She put it just behind her ear.

 

Tap. Tap. Tap. Then a small sigh.

 

She stopped working, throwing off her headphones. She put down her laptop and walked over. She had no tree to scratch at the glass, so she was honestly clueless. She opened the window and saw there hovering Supergirl. She smirked at her.

 

Lena felt herself choke a bit. A floating young woman outside her window. This is crazy. She would call this a weird dream if she didn’t know better.

 

They were both silent. _Say something._

 

More time passed. Supergirl nodded at her, waiting for Lena. _Say anything, you gay idiot!_ Lena screamed.

 

“Oh—hello,” Lena said.  She kicked herself mentally. The heroine chuckled softly.

 

“Might I come in Miss Luthor?” Her voice was smooth and carried a tone of confidence. Lena had heard that tone several times in her life. Usually in male peers, cocky. It would piss her off. But now… _it did things_ to her. She supposed it was the fact this woman was so painfully attractive and she was the reason Lena was alive and breathing. Who wouldn't be attracted to a hero?

 

Lena nodded and stepped back. The woman climbed in and landed on her feet. She stood tall, and her heels made her over half a foot taller than Lena.

 

“Are you here to collect thanks?” Lena mumbled. She struggled to not show any emotion, but a lot of her wanted to give a bit of annoyance. 

 

She smiled and laughed softly. “No. Here to check on you. You gave us all quite a scare,” Supergirl said. She dropped her shoulders, not slumped but no longer up, jutting out her emblem. Lena noticed how she had burns on the emblem. 

 

Lena sat back down. She reached for her bottle of painkillers and took another dosage. “I’m a little worse for wear but healing.”

 

Lena missed that wince that came across the heroine’s face. “I brought something for you.” Supergirl extracted a bag from under her cape.

 

“Do all the people you save get gifts?” Lena smirked at her.

 

“Only the really cute ones.” Supergirl got her to blush. Kara liked that this was allowed. Lena wasn’t Supergirl’s friend. It’s almost like Lois and Clark’s other identity. Lena looked down quickly. She put down the cloth bag.

 

Lena looked in. She saw bottles of cold brew, books such as a volume of Salvia Plath’s letters, some fluffy socks, word puzzle books, vegan cookies and cupcakes, and then a watch.

 

“What’s this?” She looked at the watch.

 

Supergirl sighed a bit. “I’m a friend of Alex and Kara. My cousin knew their dad.” She knelt before Lena and took the accessory. “They got really worried about you so after I saved you, I wanted to make it so nothing else bad happened to you. You’re a girl who will do so much, but that sadly means this isn’t the last time—I don’t want to scare you.”

 

“I’m not scared,” Lena said steadily. She wondered why the woman was being kind when one, she didn’t meet her before now and two, her brother and Superman were public foes.

 

“I know. You’re brave. Your calm heart was how I found you. You’re tough as nails.” She smiled. She clicked open the watch face. There was a button. “You click this, and I’ll know you need me. I’ll be there in a split second.”

 

“Why are you doing this?” Lena shut the face and moved her wrist to test the weight. The watch likely cost a fortune. Does Supergirl even have funds? Is this from the government? Is this a ruse? She could probably take it apart later to see if it had any bugs. She knew it would have a form of GPS so Supergirl could find her in distress. But was it always on?

 

“I owed those two girls. You don’t have to keep it…it’s a gesture.” Supergirl adjusted it on the girl’s wrist. Her fingers were warm. Lex had told her that Supers got their power from the yellow sun. She could see why, as it felt like that consistent patch of warmth one feels when they bask in the summer sun. It made Lena recoil. She had recalled a touch similar. Kara was always impossibly warm. And that one time she grasped her ankle it sent shivers up her spine. She didn’t have a chance to prepare like she usually does.

 

“Do you feel guilty? I’m not mad. You kept me from being debilitated.” Lena knew her brother was angry at this woman, but she couldn’t. Especially not when she was talking to her. She seemed a bit vulnerable when she was dancing around the injuries and when she mentioned the Danvers. It was…cute? So odd to call a strong woman cute, but she was.

 

Supergirl smiled softly. “That’s good to hear.” She stood, swiveling on the balls of her feet. She looked towards the window and Lena noticed goosebumps form on the back of the heroine’s neck.

 

“Trouble calling?” The woman nodded slowly. “Go ahead.” Lena looked at her. The wind from the window blew her loose curls. She looked back one last time at Lena. Lena fought a gasp when she saw the small dilation, pupils extending into the blown blue irises.

 

“If you need anything—" They both started. They stopped and Supergirl laughed a bit.

 

“You go first.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at the girl. 

 

“I don’t know what your life outside this looks like, so, if you need anything, come to me. You don’t have to come here. You know Alex and Kara. Just confide in them and I’ll make sure they get it to you. Really, I have more resources a sixteen-year-old should have. I want to help you,” Lena said.

 

She smiled. “Thank you, Lena. You’re kind.” She climbed out the window. She looked in. “If you need anything, remember just use that watch.”

 

“Yeah.” Lena looked into the bag after Supergirl left her.

 

* * *

 

“She’s probably not going to wear it,” Winn said to Kara. He was in the back seat of the Prius. They had gotten him and James and were on their way to pick up Maggie.

“She seemed to trust me, trust her,” Kara said.

“Yes, I would trust the attractive woman coming in through my window,” Winn remarked. He got a glare that made him look out the window.

 

“Does Clark know that this happened?” James adjusted the camera around his neck.

 

“Everyone knows. It’s a huge scoop. A Super being the saving force that rescues a Luthor. From an alien, I might add?” Alex sighed.

 

“I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about the girl lost and scared.” Kara adjusted her glasses. She paused. “Hey, Winn, James. I’m writing this article on teenage sexuality. Would you be willing to talk about when and why you knew you liked men as well?”

 

Winn and James shifted uncomfortably. “That’s a bit forward,” James chuckled sheepishly. “I mean I never really pondered it. I mean Clark was a mentor of mine. It felt grossly inappropriate having attractions to him. Saying I was fifteen at the time as well. I knew whatever happened would be very much illegal. I thought it was one person. Maybe the idea of hero worship. Guy crush. But then I moved. Dated Lucy and met you, felt better because of two high attractions to females…but then Winn came into play. Small, dark, and handsome.” He messed up his boyfriend’s hair. “I feel sexuality is more often found on a person to person basis rather an identity basis and following feelings within that. Fell for boys and girls, and looked for something to explain that. Bisexual just fit that.”

 

“I always sort of knew,” Winn told her. They pulled into Maggie’s driveway. Miss Victoria helped the girl carry bags into the car. Maggie loaded them in the back with the other things the group brought. She hugged her aunt before climbing in the back.

 

“What are we talking about?” She asked.

 

“Bisexuality,” Alex told her.

 

Winn sighed. “Anyways, I had crushes on boys and girls since my parents joked about how I was a ladies man because I would, you know, have female playmates. But I got confused because I had boy ones too. Then middle school happened, my dad happened…and I was put in the system.”  


 He shrugged, continuing as no one said anything. Everyone was actually a bit intrigued. Not just Kara. “I got housed with only boys of course and I would feel this almost electric feeling if they wrestled with me or if our legs touched under the table…” He shifted and grimaced. “It felt dangerous sometimes. Young boys aren’t the best considering same-sex attraction. It’s a breach and can destroy friendships.”

 

“It does that with girls too. At my old school at least. This place is a little better. But Kara’s still my old straight female friend outside the GSA,” Maggie said as Winn had paused. Didn’t lighten the mood, even if her tone was a bit bright.

 

Winn went on as Kara didn’t interject with anything. “I changed houses and was the only boy. The girls messed around with me. Teased me…and I felt that same feeling. Electricity, sense of danger. Crushes are dangerous.”

 

Maggie just nodded solemnly at that.

 

“Thanks,” Kara said. She looked ahead. Alex was silent the whole time as they drove. Everyone was really, after such a heavy topic.

 

“Hope that helps for the article,” he said after a while.

 

“You did. You helped a lot.” Kara looked at her phone. “I just told her we’re close.”

 

“Those your exact words?” Maggie asked.

 

“I may have used…two lamb tail shakes as the phrase. But that is beside the point,” Kara muttered. She got a few chuckles from her friends and sister.

 

Maggie smiled as hummed as they pulled up to Lena’s house. Alex threw it in park and they grabbed their things from the trunk. Lena was at the door by the time they came up. She smiled brightly at them.

 

“Finally! We get to see you,” Maggie cheered, putting an arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple. Alex did the same after her girlfriend stepped inside.

 

“Sorry if Lex was a trouble to you,” Lena whispered to her.

 

“Can we not talk about that? Maggie doesn’t know yet,” Alex said quietly.

 

“Lips are sealed. I owe you and Kara. Staying around for me. Even if you didn’t get to see me, I know you care just as much as she does.”

 

_I don’t think so_ , Alex thought. She simply smiled and nodded though. Her lipstick left a mark on Lena’s forehead. Alex could feel Kara’s eyes in her back and it amused her a tad.

 

She strolled inside. James and Winn held up gifts for Lena. Winn being so aptly employed showed a more generous side to him. And finally having privacy improved his mood innumerable amounts.

 

“You two didn’t have to—” Lena started as Winn held up the tin of cookies. It was the holiday season about then and that blue tin marked most individuals’ weakness.

 

“I know. No one ever has to do anything really. But this is for my player two with a bit of a sweet tooth.” He grinned. “And we have some nice pajama pants since you’ll spend a lot of time lounging. They have pockets. Alex and Maggie complained that girl stuff never has pockets.”

 

James held up the package. She smiled. “In another world, you would be my love interests.”

 

“Oh god. Could you imagine? Me and you?” James laughed softly and put his arm around his boyfriend as they walked in.

 

She was chuckling a little as Kara walked up to her. She stopped promptly then. Kara was there looking like what Maggie would call a “snack.”

 

Lena was used to falling for the proper girls in dresses. But Kara came in usually layered clothing, pair of laced shoes, and pants that just made those fucking thigh muscles go full display. She was lesbian catnip. She was wearing a jean jacket with a hoodie as it was cold out, black sneakers and army green joggers. Lena shivered a bit and regretted staying in her lounging clothes of leggings and hoodie with her moccasin slippers.

 

“Hey,” Kara said softly. Lena smiled softly, wondering what that proclamation of love meant to Kara. It was spur of the moment and she would take it back if she could. 

 

Lena opened her arms. “Hey? Oh no. Bring it in.” Kara ducked and scooped her up bridal style. She made her yelp a little. “I wasn’t prepared for it.”

 

Kara chuckled softly. “We’re spoiling you, Miss Lena.” She hummed.

 

“First Supergirl and now you guys? It’s my lucky day!” Lena smirked. Kara rolled her eyes. “She said this was a favor to you and Alex.” She looked at the watch. Kara tried to hide her beaming at it. The money Lex gave went towards the body of the watch and then Winn took it apart and built it up. It was modeled after the watch James has thanks to Kal.

 

“Yeah. Alex knows her through work.” Kara smiled. She turned bright red when Lena gave her cheek a kiss. “Oh! Hehe…” She put the girl down after they walked in. She adjusted her jacket and cleared her throat.

 

“Sorry,” Lena whispered. She had overstepped. She changed the subject quickly to make it seem like she had no interest in Kara. “So, Dani got into contact with me today. We talked a bit.”

 

"Ah." Kara looked disinterested, scratching the cheek kissed. “I’m going to go the kitchen.”

 

Lena felt her chest tighten. She walked up to her room tucked her inhaler in her pocket for good measure before coming back down. The group was shuffling around the kitchen. Maggie was commanding them out of a cookbook. Well, Lena supposed. It looked like a journal and was held together by twine and tape.

 

“What’s that?” Lena questioned.

 

Maggie held it up. “My abuela, before she passed, wrote all our family recipes down as she hadn’t a chance teach them to perfect memory to her kids. Before I got kicked out I snatched it from my mother’s pantry. No homophobic bitch or bastard is going to keep me from learning what that sweet woman wanted me to rightfully learn.” She shrugged. “I’m not a good cook but I’m good at bossing people around so I’m just reading this out to everyone.”

 

“No one can touch the book,” Kara told Lena. “Sawyers only.”

 

“Where did that name come from?” Lena looked at Maggie. “I hate to sound ignorant but it doesn’t sound…”

 

Maggie held up a hand to stop her. “My birth name is Margarita Rodas. Sawyer is a name I made for myself. It’s Sawyers only now. My wife and kids, if I have any, will have full access to this. My aunt let me change my name after my parents signed off their parental rights.” Maggie smiled sadly.

 

Lena wondered would she ever give up Luthor. She wasn’t brave enough to. It carried weight but she didn’t know what or who she was without it.

 

Maggie turned away and looked at her girlfriend. “Al, we need a zester.”

 

* * *

 

Within the next hour and a half, the group was sat around the dining room table that got little use. Lena snuck down to the cellar and got wine. Kara and Lena didn’t drink. Kara being the designated driver for the rest and Lena being on some powerful painkillers that couldn’t be mixed with alcohol.

 

It was all cool and light until James spoke up. “Kara, you should ask Lena what you asked us. Help with your article!” He was buzzed, so she wasn’t too angry for his idea.

 

“Article?” Lena looked over at Kara. “We’re on break and you’re so quick to work? Trying to outdo me?”

 

Kara blushed and looked at her empty plate. “Oh—it’s stupid—” She coughed into her fist.

 

“She’s writing about sexuality and teenage experience with it,” Maggie helped. She raised her glass to Kara as if she expected gratitude.

 

“Oh.”

 

“She asked about when we knew,” Winn slurred. He was the epitome of lightweight after only a few glasses.

 

Lena nodded a bit. She sipped her water before starting, “Going to an all girl’s school just does it for you. I felt out there. You just don’t do that in that society. I’m supposed to give up my part of Luthor Corp—or now Lex Corp, yes, he’s changing it—to my husband.” She straightened up, trying to be tall, confident as she said what she did. “But I want to own it! I want a wife to own it with.” She looked at her plate. “My first kiss at age eleven was with a girl. I loved it. She laughed it off, as it didn’t count really. We were both girls she would say. I was confused by it as if I were a boy she would recall that one day and call it her first kiss. I didn’t see the double standard because that was my reality. Girls were my romantic rendezvous. Period.”

 

“It felt right until someone told you it wasn’t,” Kara said, looking at her glass of water, fingers delicately wrapped around the stem of the wine glass she put it in.

 

“It’s always felt right. My mother just made it hard to live with it. But I won’t change myself by dating men. I’ve found recently my love of women is just undeniable. There’s a girl that’s taught that to me. That’s something that just occurs for queer people a lot. There’s that one person who changes everything most of the time.”

 

Kara nodded a bit. She looked up as she felt eyes on her. The two couples looked away, looking at different things. Kara arched a brow.

 

_That one person._

Kara let out a shaky breath. She stopped Alex from getting a second glass. Alex looked at her weird until they were able to talk after taking the plates to the kitchen.

 

“I’m staying back for a bit. Make sure she’s settled in for tonight.” She gave Alex the keys.

 

Alex paused. “How did you know you liked Mon-el?”

 

Kara pushed up her glasses. “I don’t even remember honestly.  It was just one day he kissed me and I didn’t shove him away.”

 

“Ew.”

 

“Okay, wow. If I did that to you and Maggie that would be rude.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Alex smiled a bit and bumped her hip against Kara’s. She looked down at the soapy water. “Well, when I knew I liked Maggie was this feeling in my chest. It hurt to see her with her girlfriend at the time. I had dreams about her. I’d see her do something, a little something and it would knock me out or distract me. I was scared, confused, exhilarated…”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

_Here goes nothing, Danvers._ “Because I see the way you look at Lena. The way you acted when she wasn’t breathing. Kara that’s not how friends act. Confess.” A plate fell with a shatter and Kara just stood there, hands up and blown blue eyes staring with shock. She scrambled and picked up the pieces as Lena walked in.

 

“Oh fuck,” the young heiress muttered.

 

“I’m sorry I’ll pay for it,” Kara said. Lena brushed past her to grab a paper bag for the shards and Kara yelped like a cat whose tail was stepped on. She looked at the younger girl. For a long time. Not saying anything.

 

Alex sighed and nudged Kara in the ribs. It kickstarted Kara and she said suddenly.

 

“Dessert! We have dessert,” she said and dropped the shards into the bag Lena held.

 

Lena stared the shards as Kara shuffled off. _I’m surprised she didn’t cut open her hands._

 

Alex looked down at the girl. “How are things with you and Dani?”

 

“I…told her thanks but no thanks for dinner. She’s beautiful and confident, but not who I want.” She sighed. “I wish I could just like the girl who's invested in me. But that's life!" 

 

Alex shrugged helplessly and patted the girl on the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Oh god. Could you imagine? Me and you?” Distorted music plays in the background. SC fandom screams in the distant. Lena dies inside in a different universe. 
> 
> A sneak peek of chapter 19: “I said it isn’t fair!” Lena finally snapped. She shoved Kara away. She stepped back a bit but ultimately Lena couldn’t do much to her. She stared in shock. Lena looked a bit in pain but kept speaking. She was shaking. You have to know what you’re doing to me…


	20. You've Ruined My Life By Not Being Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do I have to be out with it? I'm coming out to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S HERE IT'S HERE

The three drunk teenagers and Alex left the house. Alex looked a bit salty as she didn’t get to enjoy that wine likely worth all six years of college’s books. She looked at Kara before she did leave. A warning look, a silent encouragement. A curt nod of knowing,

 

Kara was in the kitchen finishing up the dishes. Lena sauntered in after wiping down the dining room table. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said. She planned on cleaning everything slowly and leaving it to be put away by the maid. Kara looked up, jumping slightly.

 

“Oh—it’s nothing really. I do this all the time at home,” Kara said. She smiled lightly and looked back down at her work. “It’s therapeutic sometimes. Repetitive, no need for skill.” She smiled and put the plates on the drying rack. Eliza used to make that her chore to help her get a sense of controlling herself. If she was too forceful she would bend the pots or break the dishes.

 

Lena sat at the table. Kara had taken off her jacket and hoodie, wearing a tight-fitting v neck underneath. Lena could see the lines of her triceps and biceps when she moved her arms. She would reach up to the high shelves and that would give a glimpse of her abs and lower back muscles.

 

She bit her thumbnail and shut out the thoughts of the things she could do to those abs.

 

She had switched to alcohol after everyone left. She felt some pain so she knew her pills had worn off. She downed a few glasses as she watched Kara.

 

“Want some?” Lena mumbled.

 

“Nah…I’m not too fond of the taste of alcohol. I hate bitterness” She huffed slightly and put her hood on. Lena simply nodded at her. She let her hair down and looked at the clock. “What do you think Lillian has in mind for Christmas?”

 

Lena finished off her drink and shrugged. “Lionel was the one who planned things. My best guess is she will have a party for people of high society, give me money as a gift, and never use the gift I got her.” She looked at Kara. “She’s a scientist Kara, so she knows no haste for this season as for how religiously charged it is. God and that jazz is absurd to her.”

 

“Oh.” Kara sighed.

 

“What about you?”

 

“Oh, well Eliza is going to be pulling all the stops. Gifts, decorations, my favorite chocolate pecan pie. We have a dinner on Christmas Eve. It’s for friends and the three of us. Maybe you can come this year? We do secret Santa gifts then.”

 

“Right.” Lena had pulled Maggie. She had plans to work on for the next five days. She smiled softly. “Kara, I have to thank you for being so kind to me. It’s been only a few months…but I feel like I’ve known you all my life sometimes.” She smirked at Kara, swirling the wine in her glass.

 

“Likewise.” Kara smiled at her, trying to not think of how she’s been forced to not tell Lena her true identity. She sighed and looked ahead. She bit her lip. “So, you and Dani…”

 

“Dead on arrival,” Lena said.  She shrugged and got up, pouring herself another glass. Kara smiled. Lena shook her head. “It sucks you know. I wanted so hard to like a girl like her. Funny, confident, and fucking beautiful. But no. I felt nothing.”

 

“You seemed like you did,” Kara said. She was a bit shocked to hear Lena speak this way. But she knew that was simply how humans acted with alcohol.

 

“I tried and I am a fool. A gay fucking fool and she was my type I suppose. Just a bit of a butch.” Her eye’s focus flitted down briefly before she looked Kara in the eye.

 

Kara had what Alex said running through her head. Confess. What was there to confess? She had a dream that set a fire in her? How she wept openly for Lena? How she prayed for the first time in half a decade for the woman? How she faced a man she never wanted to see again just for a small chance of seeing her? How a day without her isn't a good one?

 

 

Wait…

 

Kara stood and covered her mouth. She looked at the woman. That little look, she caught it but Lena didn’t know that she did. Those fleeting glimpses. Not to be cocky, but Kara knew. She knew women looked at her like that. People were shocked when she said she was into only guys.

 

 _Okay, but am I?_ Her mind went to Lucy. To how Lena is messing with her. That dream about Maggie that only made her a bit guilty.

 

Kara chuckled softly, to herself. Lena frowned and put her hands on Kara’s shoulders. “It’s not fair,” she slurred.

 

“What?” Kara looked at her.

 

“I said it isn’t fair!” Lena finally snapped. She shoved Kara away. She stepped back a bit but ultimately Lena couldn’t do much to her. She stared in shock. Lena looked a bit in pain but kept speaking. She was shaking. _You have to know what you’re doing to me…_

 

She couldn’t say what she thought then. It was cruel. This was Kara. It was how she acted. She was kind and trusting and it made so many people fall. It was never her fault that she couldn’t reciprocate. It was Lena’s for letting logic lapse and now was on a Sapphic spiral that would only end in her hitting the ground as hard as if she jumped from the tenth floor.

Time passed without Lena speaking. Kara didn’t say a word either. She was just staring down at Lena who was honestly fighting back tears.

 Lena wanted for a moment to just tell her to fuck off and leave. It worked with Veronica. Though she sadly knew that Kara wasn’t Veronica. She never would be. That infant crush of a woman she had nothing in common with could never compare to this woman in front of her. Someone she was more pained than happy to fall for.

 

Kara stepped up and took her hands. “You’re exhausted and have been drinking. It’s time to get you turned in.” She faltered but eventually was able to ask Lena, “can I pick you up?” Lena was breathing a bit heavy. “Hey, you’ll just hurt yourself.” She scooped the girl up. The grip she had on her was like a vice. Kara would’ve let out a noise of discomfort if she wasn’t who she was.

 

Lena had begun to cry. It was silent with some sniffling. Kara tensed her jaw and stared ahead rather than down at the girl. “I hate you,” Lena muttered.

 

“No, you don’t.” Kara’s expression was stony. She knew what Lena was doing.

 

She got the woman sat on the toilet in her personal bathroom. “You have to change,” Kara said.

 

“I was dressed by a nurse,” she mumbled. “You left me.”

 

Kara winced. She did. Supergirl emergency. She checked on Lena that afternoon after all that. _Well, no you didn't. Supergirl did._

  

“I did,” she sighed. She knelt before Lena. “I’m not going anywhere now.”

 

“Just stop with that,” Lena whispered.

 

“Hey,” Kara said. She took the woman’s hand in hers. She looked up at her. “I’m not. I know I’ve fallen short lately, but I am here for you. Cross my heart.”

 

She unzipped Lena’s hoodie for her, after getting consent. Lena huffed a bit and looked aside to hide her humiliation.

 

She ignored the pale skin, immaculate. Her fingers ghosted the uninjured side and Lena shivered. Kara was trembling.

 

She recalled the dream. She had ripped the buttons and greedily touched that milky flesh. She kissed it too. Bit it. It was all primitive desire. Most human part of her. Her society that raised her mostly, didn’t talk about sex much. She was young, yes, but she knew that they had a value of the order. Partners were assigned based on genetics and compatibility. Gender didn’t matter as there were means to produce offspring from same-sex couples. But sex was still taboo. The idea of making it for pleasure was slightly frowned upon. That was what dirty Daxamites did, she grew up hearing.

 

She felt her heart go heavy. She was dense but not blind. This wasn’t normal. Nothing about how she felt was normal. Not that same-sex attraction wasn’t normal, but rather such strong feelings towards one’s friend. It transcended a platonic care. Worrying and being lighthearted, how the others acted, that was friendship. Her worry, the lapse, the sense of protection…it was what the main hero did for their love interest. It was that strong feeling Aunt Astra described to a doe-eyed Kara as she tucked her into bed after telling stories of heroes and heroines.

 

And Lena had obviously felt it too. She had felt like it was just her. She wasn’t going to be out with it, she had the hidden anxiety that to actually put it out in the universe that it would ruin this.

 

She got Lena in a button up pajama shirt. Kara thought of what to say. “ _You know what you said about one person changing it all? Everything’s changed because of you.” No, Kara, that’s not right!_

 

 Kara waited outside the bathroom as Lena washed her face and brushed her teeth. “ _It was scary, almost losing you. But it made me think—” That is so stupid and also selfish a bit. Think think THINK._  Kara helped the girl move what she wanted to and cleaned off her bed.

_“I’m afraid too. I know you’re scared. I’m scared of what to say to you after all that’s happened. This doesn’t feel like it has.” No. None of this feels right. But I can’t take this anymore._

 

Lena said she could clean up herself, but Kara insisted.

 

Kara lingered in the middle of the room. She was still without the right thing to say. She usually felt it so natural to talk to Lena. But right now, she might as well have been a stranger.  Lena looked at her.

 

“You look like you have something to say,” Lena muttered. She flicked off her lights.

 

 

“It’s not fair? What did I do?” Kara asked, voice weak.

 

Lena sighed. She hung her head. She pinched her brow as after splashing cold water on her face she felt a bit sobered. “You didn’t do anything wrong…it’s just another case of me ruining good things in my life.” Oh, that sentiment. What a cord it could strike in Kara.

 

“You haven’t done anything,” she muttered. She stepped towards Lena again. She knelt next to her. She fought gritting her teeth. She held back about fifty different ways to say it. “That’s shit your mom has made you think.” Not the most delicate way but nonetheless, it was true.

 

They looked at her each other. The moon bled in through Lena’s windows. Kara saw Lena. Her skin glowed. She looked immortal even if they both had been reminded of her mortality. 

Lena saw Kara. Her eyes eerily shone. Her hair glinted and looked like the threads of gold spun from hay. She was a woman of myth. A goddess. _She’s so attractive it hurts_.

 

Kara caressed the woman’s left cheek and watched her lean into the touch with shut eyes. _Thank Rao she isn’t rejecting my touches_. She rued not being able to look into such perfect ivy eyes. Overtaking, homely, beautiful in an unidentifiable way. 

“The way you treat me, it’s from your heart. Your wonderful one of a kind heart. I see why James and Winn fell so hard," Lena whispered.

 

“I don’t want to think about them,” Kara sighed. “That was such a mess, Lena.” She leaned in, looking down at Lena. “See the thing is I recently came to realize that I’m denser than I recently surmised. I buy into that theory that one is born the way they’re born but it may take someone to make them realize the truth. That—that it’s not a choice but like a side quest in life. A place to grow. A hidden treasure! Yes...but I digress.” Kara moved away, her cheeks burning.

 

Lena sat up and looked down at her. “What are you trying to say?”

 

“I have to be out with it?’ Kara sat up and looked at her. “I’m coming out to you.”

 

Lena moved away from Kara. “Wait! What?” She got out of bed. She clapped her hands and the lights came on. She shut her eyes as it hurt.

 

Kara let out a shaky breath. She pulled Lena against her, holding her by the elbows. She had to be so careful to not bruise the alabaster skin. “You did this to me. Opened my eyes. You see Lena I really, really like you.” She leaned down. Lena felt her breath against her cheek. “It’s scary…but in a good way. Like jumping off the high dive.” She chuckled softly. “It’s a thrill. Not cheap. No, you’re platinum. Pure, valuable…rare.” Kara put a hand on her cheek. “Can you tell I’m trying to be romantic?”

 

“I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming…” Lena muttered. She felt her eyes sting. “This isn’t happening. That would be too wonderful. Too good for me.”

 

“No. You deserve to feel loved.” Kara kissed her forehead. “Lena, I’m sorry I made you feel lost. Like you were sinking because of me. I like you! Romantically. I-I am so scared of it. This is really the first time I’ve felt like this. I’ve had inklings with my past partners but not like this.” She chuckled softly, blushing a cute shade of rose. “I honestly don’t know what to do!”

 

 _She’s going to kill me this way!_ Lena mentally screamed. She acted on impulse then. Thank god for some liquid courage. Without it, she wouldn’t have spoken a word. She would’ve just smiled kindly and tried not to blush as Kara did everything to be kind.

 

Lena pulled her down and locked their lips. Kara was a goner in that moment. She kept her hands at her side at the moment, afraid of what her touch could do. But that kiss, fuck that kiss. She was used to the aggression, a scratchy face. But this was soft, slow. She felt a bit of fire in her abdomen when Lena moaned a bit when she sucked on her lower lip. _Winn was right. This is dangerous. But what’s life without a bit of danger?_

 

Lena pulled away to catch her breath. “Oh wow,” she whispered. She chuckled a bit, in a bit of a trance and at a loss for words.

 

Kara put a hand on her lower back and pulled their hips against hers. She stole another kiss, not feeling right without those lips on hers. The kiss was quick and a bit uncoordinated. Kara’s nose bumped Lena’s once as they joined again after a breath. The younger girl giggled as her older counterpart turned pink.

 

 She looked down at her and caressed her cheek. “This is everything I’ve dreamt about,” Kara breathed. She ran her fingers through Lena’s hair.

 

“You?” Lena looked aside. “I thought you were another promise of heartbreak. I tried to keep my mind off you but it was impossible.”

 

“Never!” Kara let herself be led onto the bed. She took the role of the big spoon, holding Lena close. Her fingers brushed her belly that was uncovered. She chuckled at how cute it was with its bit of softness. Lena luckily didn’t squirm so she kept it there, enjoying the warmth and skin to skin contact. She kept it in the middle, not to brush the tender area of her injury but not to be so low that her fingers would brush the hem of her pajama pants.

 

Lena moved her hand, resting it on Kara’s. “Stay with me?”

 

“Mm, for now.” Kara kissed her shoulder.  

 

“This isn’t what I pictured when you stayed back. I expected this to hurt more,” Lena mumbled.

 

“I can’t believe I’ve been hurting you.” Kara sounded guilty. Lena couldn’t see her face, but she knew her brow would be screwed up and she would be biting her lower lip.

 

“You had no way to know. I was trying to make it that you didn’t know.”

 

“Saying you loved me was such an amazing cover-up,” Kara said dryly.

 

Lena poked her in the chest. Kara just smirked down at her. “Okay, friends can say that. You practically sid it first a while ago. I-I don’t love you like that. Not yet. I swear,” Lena said quickly. She didn’t want to scare off Kara.

 

The older woman merely chuckled. She looked at her phone. It was nearing midnight. “I really need to get home soon.”

 

“Just sleep here…” Lena flopped on top of her, back against Kara’s front. Kara sighed.

 

“I don’t think Johanna will take too kindly to finding us shacked up.”

 

Lena looked at her. “Please?”

 

“This is why I got you Benjamin.” Kara nuzzled her nose into Lena’s hair.

 

“He isn’t good enough.” Lena tucked a finger into the belt loops of Kara’s pants. “You’re trapped now.”

 

“Well, fuck.” Kara chuckled lightly.

 

She stroked her fingers lazily through the espresso waves that smelled of coconut. She kissed Lena’s temple after she knew the woman had drifted off. She slowly climbed out of the bed. She regretted to have to leave, but she knew she was already on thin ice to be out so late.

 

She moved the stuffed bear into her place. Lena turned and hugged him in a vice. Kara smiled softly.

“ _I will protect your happiness_ ,” Kara said, dangerously in her native tongue. As she had a certainty this bond was made by Rao, transcending galaxies and odds. Only could that god give such joy after such perils. Clarity after a storm.

 

She kissed the woman’s cheek and went to the window. She pushed it opened and hopped out, stopping midair. She shut it and drifted back.

 

She took a deep breath and thanked Rao. _“Praise the force to give me her and thank the sun that allows me to fight for her._ ”

 

She flew off, on her way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this slow enough to be a slow burn? It seemed like it was torturous to you readers. I was going to make Dani an arc but then I was like "no, Lena knows what she wants. It's all or nothing with her."


	21. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course in a museum of beautiful art, these two gay children can only focus on the other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the long time, I had a different plot line that lead me to a block so I scrapped it and this chapter came literally in one day. Oh and then tried to write five different stories all focusing on Sanvers that I want to publish but one of them read like a shitty Supergirl in Training with a Supercorp and Sanvers kids traveling back in time to make sure Reign doesn't fucking kill their moms.

 

Lena woke up and in that her head spun. She sat up quickly, cursing as it caused a rush of blood in her head. She cursed and covered her eyes. She looked around. The cold and dark room was empty of other human life. She frowned to herself and wondered had she had a vivid dream. She tried to convince herself it was a dream because of the things she said. She was ashamed of saying it. She got terribly lucky it didn’t send Kara off and not wanting to see her again. She didn’t deserve to be kissed like that.

 

She looked at the floor to find the only proof. Kara had left her jean jacket. She reached and grabbed the stressed denim. She hugged it tight and laughed to herself.

 

She had kissed Kara. She lied back and kept giggling. The soft lips were not a fabrication. The feeling of the blond locks tangled in her fingers was not a fantasy. It was reality. A run around her room in circles screaming until her body gave out from exhaustion or pain kind of reality. 

 

Kara told her she liked her. She wasn’t a promise of heartbreak.

 

Lena smiled, her cheeks hurting. Her joy was enough to keep her headache at bay for the moment. She got out of bed, getting dressed and checking her phone.

 

**_Kara: I want to see you_ **

 

Lena slipped the oversized jacket on and went downstairs. She was glad to see herself alone, note on the table from her mother that told her she was sorting through something unforeseen in Lionel’s will.

 

 She made herself a cup of coffee and texted back.

 

**_What did you have in mind?_ **

****

**_Kara: Art museum? Lunch?_ **

****

**_Perfect. Honk when you’re here._ **

Lena packed up her bag and made sure to take some painkillers. She slipped on her sunglasses as she heard honking outside.

 

She stepped out and saw Kara in the Prius. Lena walked up and get in next to her. She had barely gotten out a “hello” before Kara leaned in and kissed her cheek.

 

Lena blushed and choked out, “what was that?”

 

“A greetings for my…girlfriend?” They hadn’t defined the relationship, but when Lena didn’t show any discomfort at the title, Kara felt better at coining her as her girlfriend.  

 

Lena pouted. “It’s a pretty shit one.” Kara chuckled a bit and stole a quick kiss on her lips. “Mm, better.”

 

Kara smirked and pulled out. They got on the highway before she spoke again. “You’re wearing my jacket.”

 

“I mean you left it and it’s just so cute.” Lena pulled it close to herself. Kara looked down at her and smiled.

 

Kara chuckled. She adjusted the trench coat she had on. Lena looked over. She looked rather well-put together. She had on a pair of dress pants and her favorite pair of bright shoes. Her hair was up in a neat bun and her lips a dusty pink color.

 

She put her hand on Lena’s knee and whispered. “It looks better on you.” She got the younger girl to turn pure red. She kept her attention on the road but smiled cockily nonetheless. She knew what she was doing. It was almost natural.

 

Lena sucked in a breath. “I thought it looked best off of you. On my floor…” She struggled to lay a smooth line. That was the oldest line.

 

It just made Kara smile a bit. She got them parked. She dashed out of the car to open Lena’s door. She offered a hand. “What a gentlewoman,” Lena commented. Kara smirked and kissed her, pressing her to the car and cupping her cheek.

 

She went to pull away, even if they were alone in the parking garage there was still the risk of being seen, but Lena put her hand to her neck and pulled her back.

 

Kara nearly crushed the car’s roof where her hand rested when Lena grasped her. A delicate touch but on her throat sent a buzz just under her skin.

 

She was glad she was finally able to pull away to compose herself. She stepped away. “Come on, before I regret not just spending the day on your couch making out with Bones on in the background,” she mumbled. The girl was ruining her romantic plans by flustering her.

 

“Sorry,” Lena said, though both knew she was proud. Kara took her hand and locked up the car. They strolled off and Kara paid for their tickets to the special exhibit. She knew Lena had a favor for Art Deco, so when she read they had the “Gatsby” exhibit, she couldn’t resist.

 

“We should check our coats.” Kara took off the trench and revealed the rest of her ensemble. Her scarlet red blazer and a black tie with a white shirt. She heard an audible gasp from her girlfriend and she struggled to keep a casual face. “You okay?” She smiled coyly.

 

Lena shook her head and walked away. Kara laughed to herself and got her coat checked. She tucked away the ticket and caught up with Lena. She saw the woman was staring at the complete suit of armor in a glass case at the entrance of the atrium.

 

She saw the placard. It had been donated by Lionel.

 

“He was a lover of the arts?”

 

“Avid. I couldn’t begin to describe it. Every time we traveled, we just had to go to an art museum or two. Or that being the whole trip. My brother and mother saw the needlessness in art. I was always intrigued. What the human mind and hands can make and what influences stemmed from where. We went to so many churches in Europe I can’t even count them. The mosaics they had would keep the two of us enthralled. Sometimes he’d take just me. He’d listen to me ramble on because I’d research where we were going.” Lena blushed. “And I’m rambling right now.”

 

“That’s amazing.” Kara took her hand. Lena smiled.

 

“Easily the best times of my childhood.” Kara led her downstairs to the exhibit. It was like a maze, branching rooms and various temporary hangings. The extravagance was at times comical yet the one of a kind decadence drew one to desire a bit of their own.

 

Kara had lost Lena around halfway through. She looked at a series of sketches of flappers. Women not much older than them.

 

Kara set up her phone camera to start taking pictures of the sketches and then the cast iron flat image of a man playing an upright vase. She was looking through her screen and finally saw Lena.

 

The young woman was sitting on a bench in front of a painting a few feet tall and wide. It was oddly looked over. The painting was done mostly in earth tones. Two women in slips. They were made of distinct shapes, triangles shades and pasted together almost to make their dresses yet it painted on so intentionally. One smoked a cigarette, long and elegant in her hands. It was from the side profile and looking at each other. Delicate smiles painted the racy rouge to promote a sense of promiscuity.  The way one was hunched over the other suggested one was in the other’s lap. The brunette was the one sitting on the blonde’s lap. Even if their undress and painted lips, and the overall sense of the times the style lent homage to, it wasn’t erotic. It was tender. A slow moment immortalized.

 

Lena had a content smile. Kara failed to look at the painting, brought dead in her tracks by the beautiful woman in front. She stole a picture, catching Lena’s own profile. She had a dreamy look in her eye and a soft smile as she looked at the lovers. She read the card over and over likely, taking that this was a man’s portrait of his two dearest friends whose love was hidden. It was discovered in the eighties by his grandchildren, dated by him in 1926 and had pictures of them as well. It was a delicate idea, to have a man’s focal point be queer women. Yet he handled it so respectfully, and now their love was touring and inspiring people. People like Lena.

 

Kara made herself known, sinking next to Lena. “It’s beautiful,” she mumbled. “Masterpiece.”

 

“Yeah. The artist was talented.”

 

“No. I was talking about the woman who’s sat here for at least five minutes, hope in her green eyes and has caught more interested looks than the painting.” Kara took her hand and kissed her temple.

They toured the rest of the exhibit. Kara kept taking pictures, wanting to immortalize it all. She got some glares from those who thought art was the passing moment of gaze, reading the card and going on. She wanted to remember it, show the pictures to Alex and gush over her favorite parts and have it be a part of her memories made with Lena.

 

They exited, looking over the flapper dresses on mannequins. “You would still wear some stuff like this wouldn’t you?” Kara teased.

 

“I’m considering trying to find some modern imitations or having one tailored, yes.” Lena hugged to Kara’s arm and rested her head on her shoulder. “Thank you for taking me.”

 

“Pleasure’s mine.” Kara kissed her forehead. They strolled out of the exhibit and up to the general collection. Kara convinced Lena to let them go to the armory, her favorite place. Lena was at first begrudging until they arrived and Kara turned into an actual child.

 

She ran to the first central display of a horse mannequin decked out in armor and red draping. Kara started to rattle off facts to Lena, blue eyes shining.

 

“See that? That’s the croupier. Protected the hindquarters. And the actual practice of armoring your horses was called barding. It was to protect them because they were treated as a weakness for the cavalry. The archers could just pick off the horses and infantry can move in and get them while they’re down. So voila. Living armored trucks.”

 

Lena smiled at her. “You’d like art history I feel.”

 

“I took it last year.” Kara smiled at her.

 

Lena arched a brow. “It’s for juniors.”

 

“Says you.” Kara looked at the horse armor again. “I just had to get some papers signed and it was great. Miss C’s a cool woman. Mellow.” Lena nodded. Kara took her hand. “Come on.” She led her to a display of old pistols. “See the one with the ivory inlay? Wheellock. It was innovative.” She looked down at Lena. She had never seen so much excitement in the woman. “Before it was a fuse and took two hands. This one with its striking mechanism with the pyrite and wheel—”

 

“Was to allow one-handed firing,” Lena finished. Kara nodded eagerly. “What is it about old-time weaponry for you?”

 

“Honestly? When I first got adopted I had no one. Middle of eighth grade, so I would just sit in the town’s library and read for hours when Alex wasn’t around. I found books about knights and went from there, really.” It was mostly true, but it was also an exercise to learn English and culture within the other books. She strayed and found history. Some of it mortified her, but other places read well to her. She thought Rome similar to Krypton in its innovations and eventual downfall even if it was a seemingly unstoppable force. Pompeii read to her planet’s destruction.

 

“Did anyone think it was cool you knew so much about armor and weaponry?”

 

“Boys did. I wasn’t going to get many girls. Probably why it took until recently for me to get it straight that I wasn’t straight,” she joked.

 

Lena rolled her eyes. “Tell me more about it.”

Kara smiled. “Well, the mechanisms had to be made by clockmakers as it was such delicate work and the mechanisms mirrored the gears of clocks, so to them, it was like working on tiny desk clocks. That can kill people.”

 

“Excellent.” Lena smiled evilly. “Totally unrelated, I need some clocks.”

 

Kara snorted. “Fuck.” She covered her mouth when crotchety old men and women spending their Sunday at the museum glared.

 

Kara had a good twenty minutes of running, staring in awe even if she had seen it all before, and going off. Sometimes she would usher for Lena to come over and tell her some random fact, but most of the time she was having a grand gay old time while her girlfriend watched with a small smile.

 

Lena went to the gift shop as Kara grabbed their coats. She saw a replica of the horse armor with a tiny mounted knight with armor, the fingers and other plates being able to be moved.

 

She knew if Kara was there behind her she would stroke out and tell her to not buy it at the price tag.

 

Lena got a clerk and the young man took it and bagged it for her. She swiped her card quickly and he looked at her odd as he saw her last name.

 

“You’re Lionel’s kid.” She shrugged. “I heard you died.”

 

“Guess I did technically.” She signed the slip.

 

“I’m only still here because of his funding. They were going to cut the interns when I was a college freshman. I’m about to finish graduates and follow the curator on his next expedition for pieces. So, thank you.”

 

She smiled. “Thank you for telling me. It’s nice to hear my father’s legacy is taking root.” He handed her the bag.

 

“You have a nice day. I hope to see you around here again.”

 

Kara came up next to her. She took Lena’s hand. “You finishing up?”

 

“Yeah. I saw something I thought Lex would like,” Lena said. Kara nodded and kissed her forehead. Lena saw the young man frown a bit but he still smiled when she was obviously looking at him.

 

“Thank you,” he said. “Stay warm out there.”   


“You have a nice day. And congrats on shadowing the curator,” she said. She smiled and walked off. Kara nodded at the man kindly.

 

She helped Lena into her jacket as they stepped outside. “So, what did you get Lex exactly?”

 

“Mesoamerican vase,” she said without a pause. “It’s gift wrapped so I can’t show you.” Kara pouted a bit.

 

She drove them to her and Alex’s favorite noodle shop. “Will he be coming home for the holidays?”

 

“I don’t know.” Lena shrugged. “He’s kind of like Lillian with the holiday ever since he started to take over the company. When he was a teenager he would spend hours getting gifts for the family. I remember he would take me to pick our parents’ gifts. We’d get hot chocolate with peppermint and if I was well-behaved we would go to the little rink they have in National Square.”

 

Kara took note. _That’s a good second date._

 

Lena found two things out once they walked into the shop. One, they knew Kara by name. And two, she was in their eyes underweight as they pushed her to order more when she just asked for a cup of soup.

 

Kara sat back, amused as Lena had to kindly turn down the little old Asian woman taking their order insisting on her getting some dumplings. Kara spoke to her in mostly broken Chinese and the woman laughed.

 

“It’s getting better!” She said to Kara and walked to the kitchen doors.

 

“I didn’t know you were bilingual.”

 

“You didn’t know a lot about me being bi until recently,” Kara joked. She dodged the straw wrapper Lena shot off at her.

 

"You are the worst." 

She smiled and explained further. “There’s a cook that can barely speak a lick of English. He’s the husband of the waitress that just took our order. Alex and I call her Miss Zhen and he’s Mister Gen. It’s not her full name or even her surname, nor his. They simply said it was what we could call them. But anyway, I learned a bit because he would come out and try to talk to us because we came around so much and he would fall over his words. I started to learn because I wanted to talk to him better. I learned a lot because of it. His son used to tutor me, and I never knew. And they’ve been married since they were nineteen.”

 

“That’s cool.”

 

“It’s really not,” Kara sighed. “It’s dorky.”

 

“Hello? From one dork to another, it’s very cool. And it’s sweet. You did that just to get to know someone.”

 

Kara smiled shyly and adjusted her glasses. “Don’t you speak like five languages?”

 

“That’s for business purposes. LuthorCorp is international. Lex and I had tutors since we could talk. By the second week of living with the Luthors, I had a tutor teaching me how to speak Gaelic and French.”

 

“Gaelic?”

 

“It’s a mystery why I had to learn it. But it had a value to my father so I put up with it. And it is beautiful.”

 

“I can say “kiss my ass” in it.”

 

“All kids that went to elementary school can.” Lena sipped her tea. “We should actually talk about the whole girlfriend thing.”

 

“Yeah, guess we should.” Kara loosened her tie and gulped.

 

“I really like you, but Kara I’ll have to keep you in the dark. Today was risky.” Lena avoided eye contact and fiddled with her utensils.

 

Kara was quiet. She acted more interested in pouring herself another cup of green tea. She looked at Lena after a moment. _In the dark._ She swallowed. “Why?”

 

“Well, I just worry what people would think.”

 

“Lena, it is the twenty-first century. You can marry a woman if you want to. You can love women. Your father protected you in his will, didn’t he?”

 

“I can only guess if my mother has been struggling to find means to modify it.” Kara almost broke her glass at hearing that.

 

“What?” She leaned back, shocked at how icy her own voice could be.  

 

“Why I’ve been alone so much. She’s currently in Metropolis talking to my father’s lawyer pertaining to his will.”

 

“So...Do you know what he wrote to you?”

 

Lena hesitated but trusted Kara enough. “Half the company, more than half the inheritance. My mother currently has ten percent stake and half a billion. Why so little?”

 

“That’s a little?” Kara felt like fainting at fathoming what Lena would be resting on if that was the shaft.

 

“For this case, yes. I found out…my mother failed a clause in her prenup. I don’t know what, but it nulled her from deciding my trust fund.”

 

“So, you’ll be able to do what you want with the company? When?”

 

“I get the stake in business once I graduate from a college of my choosing. I get the money…when I’m eighteen.”

 

“So, you can do what you want. If his conditions for you were so loose.”

 

“If it’s ironclad.”

 

Kara nodded slowly. “I’m sure it is. He was a smart man if he has half the sense you do.” She looked at her. “So, doesn’t that translate to you being able to do this all without being limited to your mother’s threats.”

 

“I’m still stuck under her roof for two years. But yeah, I am no longer stuck within her deleterious tropes to keep me the bug under her thumb.” She smiled to herself.

 

“Then how about this? You don’t have to be out with her about us being partners. But around the school, friends, and my family, we’re girlfriends. In public, we’re romantic but not outwardly. Not the petting that was you in the parking lot, miss grab-my-neck.”  

 

Lena blushed and didn’t address the final part. “I can live with that.”

 

Kara nodded. “I want to tell my family on Christmas Eve.”

 

“Anything.” Lena’s voice was quiet.

 

“Anything?” Kara smiled. She leaned in and whispered. “If I can get anything I want, consider what you did more often.”

 

Lena nearly squeaked as she turned red. They moved away from each other as Miss Zhen put down their plates.

 

Kara grabbed her chopsticks. “Is finishing college his only condition?”

 

“Teaching my children Gaelic. Like I said, fucking weird.”

 

“How can he make sure? Is the lawyer just going to pop up one winter night decades from now and request your child recite the dead language without a moment of hesitation or stutter or all will be lost? Or will he just know from the beyond and strike you down if your child goes past age twelve without being able to say "póg mo thóin?"”

 

Lena smiled. “Probably the former. Daniel’s a dedicated man.”

 

Kara smiled until her phone went off.

 

She checked the screen.

 

**_Alex: Fire. I need you now._ **

****

“I’m going to go to the restroom.” Kara stood and went down a narrow hall. She passed and went out the door to the back alley.

 

She flew off after stripping down to her super suit.

 

She hovered over and found the location. A business building, a third-floor fire. She could hear the screams, the racing heartbeats…

 

She flew in, breaking a window through. Her skin felt the prickling heat even if no pain licked her pale skin. She willed the ice from her lungs. The flames became smaller and she was able to lead the able down the stairs. She scooped up a wheelchair-bound man and carried him out, chair and all.

 

When she landed there was applause. She smiled a bit. She knelt in front of the man. “You alright sir? Didn’t shake you too much did I?”

 

“No, miss. Thank you.”

 

Kara wanted to stay around, make sure everyone was okay and accounted for. She had made it that the flames that were seemingly inescapable were vanquished. What was left was lingering smoke.

 

She walked over to a young woman with a shock blanket over her shoulders. She got the woman water when she coughed and asked for her name, make light chat while an EMT checked her over.

 

She got her to smile a little. “You’re sweet,” she said in response to Supergirl complimenting her blouse. Kara stayed put when the woman rested her head on her shoulder.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“Twenty. The receptionist.”

 

“I’m glad you’re okay, Miss Quinn “the receptionist.”” She smiled and got up.

 

She nodded at a few medics and flew off.

 

She strolled back over to Lena, suit in perfect shape on her body as she sank into her seat. “Sorry. I took off a button and put it on with my little sewing kit,” she quipped.

 

Lena looked up, having been focused on her phone. “Oh, that’s okay. I was watching the feed of Supergirl saving people from a burning building.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“She’s something.” She smiled a bit. “Though it’s nice to not see her often.”

 

“Right.” Kara smiled and adjusted her collar to make sure her suit was well hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	22. We Can't Live in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lies is part of the game within the DEO. Kara knows she has to lie about most everything. Yet, she can't stand to see these white lies and secrets be played out by Alex as she witnesses the toll it's taken on Maggie. 
> 
> Something's going to have to change or else Alex just might lose Maggie forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is I guess more Sanvers centered, though not told in the point of view of the characters within the ship. It's more Kara taking some personal liberty in trying to calm the waters.

“That’s fifty,” Kara whooped as she walked into the DEO. She sank into a seat next to Winn. He grabbed his cup of coffee. It was late in the night, he and Kara pulling long nights over break. Winn had been able to set up new precautions and had been sent to the multiple locations to update the notification system.

 

He had the counter up for her on his desktop. Fifty incidents of crime or disaster this month, stopped by Supergirl. The papers can’t write them in fast enough.

 

“Up top,” she said, holding her hand up. He just stared at her. “What?”

 

He slowly got a shit-eating grin, lips quirking. "I just saw something interesting. Let's take a gander." He pulled up a video camera still. Bit grainy, but sufficient. She leaned in and saw it.

 

A picture of her and Lena in the museum parking lot, kissing against the car.

 

“How—”

 

“Public cameras, I have them set to notify us when they trace your face so we can control the press witnessing you. It can sense you in your civilian clothes as well. I was just doing a harmless search, and…viola.”

 

She was red. She held her cape in her fist. “Who knows?”

 

“Just me.” He nudged her. “Pretty aggressive there, Kar.” She glared at him. He chuckled and clicked it away. “How long has it been?”

 

“Just a few days. We’re going on our second date tomorrow. Gift shopping, hot chocolate, ice skating.”

 

“That’s three dates in one. Why so big of gestures?”

 

“She’s a woman of extravagance!”

 

“She also is…so gay for you. I’m sure cuddling on the couch and watching romance movies would be a good date. It is.”

 

Kara shrugged, playing with her cape. “I just really like her.”

 

“I’m glad you’re admitting it.” He sighed and tipped his head back. “It was so painful for us, Kara.”

 

“For you?” She arched a brow.

 

“We’ve known! Okay? You were so…obvious. She was in your sights first. You learned so much about her. Kara, the last straw for you with Mon-el was him triggering a panic attack in her. You broke protocol to save her life. You faced the man you hate the most for the off chance of seeing her. If you didn’t end up with her this universe wouldn’t be right. Because that’s fucking love.”

 

She covered her mouth with her hand. She felt tears brimming for no reason. She let out a shaky breath after moving her hand away. “I was waiting to tell you all. But I’m so happy this is happening. It’s been just a few days, but Rao, when I kiss her…it feels right. You know?”

 

“Kara, I have that feeling every day. I know. I know more than anyone.”

 

“It’s terrifying. I know she can’t be the end but the really dumb part of me wants her to be.”

 

“You can find the one young. Love isn’t defined by one example or the right time. Sometimes you have a marriage and two kids under your belt before finding that person to fucking knock you out. Sometimes you’re barely able to comprehend what human connection is before the world throws you the person you need to end the story decades from that point.”

 

He stopped. “What are the odds all six of us are set for life from high school in consideration of a lover?”

 

“I had a better chance of running into my mother I think.” She laughed humorlessly. Her phone dinged and she was quick to grab it.

 

She answered Lena quick. “Hello?”

 

“Hey. Do you know Maggie’s sizes?”

 

“Uh, yeah. I’ll text them to you. That all you wanted to call about?”

 

“Well…just making sure you’re doing good.”

 

“I’m just hanging out with Winn in his loft. Playing some Skyrim and talking about relationship stuff.”

 

“Does he…did you tell him?”

 

“He figured it out,” Kara chuckled. She looked at Winn. He frowned at her and looked at his keyboard.

 

“Guess we aren’t slick.”

 

“Far from Miss Luthor. I should hang up. I’ll see you tomorrow at three.”  

 

“Yeah. Bye.” Lena hung up.

 

“You lied so easily,” Winn said to Kara. She looked over at him. “You and Alex do it so naturally with your partners.”

 

“You saying you wouldn’t keep this secret from James if you had to?”

 

“He’s been there for me so much…I don’t think I could do that to him. I love him so much,” Winn said after a brief pause. He rubbed his keys, touch so light he didn’t click them down. “I just don’t get why Maggie and Lena need to be in the dark. It could be a risk in my opinion. If something happens to either of you…” He didn’t want to finish the thought. He let out a slow breath. “I just don’t want things to be ruined by secrets. Secrets have taken so much from all of us, hasn’t it?”

 

She took his hand. “I can’t tell her. I want to, but she’s so public. It can be risky. Best she thinks I’m two different people like the rest of the world until things are settled. It’s the one thing for certain I can trust Hank on.”

 

“I don’t know…feels like he has his own secrets sometimes,” Winn whispered, watching the director walk the perimeter of the bureau, arms crossed over his chest and chin up. “I started to research him…but his record was sealed a couple years ago.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Well, they’re only sealed if you leave private service, if you betray the bureau, or if you die. He’s none of the above. I’m trying,” he whispered. He jumped when someone pounded her hand on his desk. They whipped their head and saw Henshaw there.

 

“Hello, children. How are your patrol and research going?” He looked at Winn. The young man tensed and was stuttering without any substance to what was coming out of his mouth. 

 

“Oh, I’m on my way back out!” Kara got up with a jump and a skip. Winn let out a shaky breath and turned back to his computer.

 

“Just getting back to it.” He paused. “D-do you need anything, sir?” He couldn't look Henshaw in the eye.

 

“Delete that video of Miss Luthor and Miss Danvers if you can.” He walked away. Winn cursed under his breath.

 

“Fuck…Oh, sorry, sir! I’m on top of it.” 

 

* * *

 

Kara took a perch, resting against a fake gargoyle and checking her phone. She stopped when a number she had a vague recollection of appeared.

 

She took the call. “Hello?”

 

“Kara,” Mon-el said on the other side of the line. She could tell his voice out of a thousand others. 

 

She lowered her voice. “Mon-el. What do you want?”

 

“Oh, I just thought you’d want to know where your sister’s girlfriend is. She’s currently at my bar nursing her fourth whiskey soda.”

 

She inwardly groaned. “I’ll be there to get her out. Thanks, I guess.” She hung up.

 

She flew to the bar and changed in the alley. She strolled in and saw Maggie hunched over. She had a fake ID that allowed her to go. A lot of times it was just a place to get away. The bar she went to Kara knew as a safe haven for alien sorts. Why Mon-el worked there.

 

Maggie looked up when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked over her shoulder and looked away quickly when she saw Kara. “Oh, you found me. Who sent you?”

 

“No one. Came on my own accord.” Kara sat next to her. She felt eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. He had done her a favor, but that changed nothing. “What’s wrong?”

 

“I’ve been denying it for months now. I can’t anymore…” Maggie sniffled and wiped at her nose ungracefully, using the sleeve of her bomber jacket. She was all snotty and she was red in the cheeks from the alcohol. “Alex’s cheating on me.”

 

Kara swallowed. “That’s not true—”

 

“Think! She’s always making up these little lies to not see me. I know she’s dedicated to studies, but every single time I call her this month, a month she’s off—she’s at the fucking library. I can’t get her to come with me anywhere. She’s so protective of her phone. There’s a difference between wanting privacy and having something damning that you have to hide. And when I see her, if see her, she smells like someone else.”

 

Kara thought how Alex would practice hand to hand. She would be flush against someone else, both perspiring. It was a simple explanation, but Maggie didn’t know. To her, the only other way would be her pressed against another woman as they…

 

Kara sighed. “Trust me that’s not the case.”

 

“What is then, Kara?” Maggie snapped. She hunched over, looking depressed. “I’m sorry…”

 

Kara sat next to her. “Why not just leave? Why take her shit if you think she’s doing that to you?”

 

Maggie glared at the bar. “I got nothin’ but her and you guys. And if I leave her you guys will take her.”

 

“You have your aunt. God, she must be worried.” Kara went on her phone to find Miss Victoria’s number. Maggie grabbed her by the wrist and looked at her.

 

“Kara, she wants me out. I pay rent. It’s not me “helping out.” It’s me renting my shitty little room and still treated like she’s a guardian who can say shit to me. I’m technically an emancipated minor.”

 

“I…I didn’t know that.” Kara wished she had something comforting to say, but she was just glad she didn’t stutter or just blurt out “that sucks.”

 

“Only Alex does.” Maggie sniffled. Kara hadn’t even realized she was ready to cry. “I can’t lose her too Kara. I don’t know what to do.”

 

“Let’s get you out of here,” Kara whispered. She got up and picked Maggie up bridal style. The woman held her tight, not putting in an effort to keep Kara from taking care of her.

 

Kara looked up and accidentally locked eyes with him. “I forgot how much a mess she can get when she drinks.”

 

“Wow, get fucked,” she muttered and turned away. She pushed the door opened with her hip and walked into the cold winter day. It, of course, wouldn't snow there ever, but the air was biting. Kara barely noticed Maggie’s weight as she carried her the mile to the Danvers’ home.

 

The woman mumbled incoherently, hiding her face. “What’s the point in staying I can just get into the academy, sign the papers when I get back at the end of the month…”

 

“That’s stupid. You want to be more than a street cop. You’ll need an education. Plus, you have a full ride to NCU honors college. Don’t throw that away. Mags, you earned that without your aunt or your parents. Or without Alex or any of us.”

 

“I only have myself.”

 

“No! You got me no matter what. You have Winn, and James, and Lena. Alex is still there for you, I swear.” Kara put Maggie on her feet as they got to the house. The woman wobbled and leaned into Kara. Kara put Maggie’s arm around her own neck and put her hand on her waist.

 

Maggie was mumbling about Kara’s shoulder muscles as they walked in. Alex came out of the kitchen, Maggie looking at her feet so she failed to see her.

 

Kara shook her head quickly before Alex spoke. She led Maggie up to the guest room, getting her on the bed and putting a wastebasket within her reach. The woman was out like a light once she hit the bed.

 

Kara strolled downstairs to grab some water and aspirin to place on the bedside table. “What’s happening?” Alex asked her.

 

Kara stopped. She turned slowly and looked at her older sister. “You know for someone who has lied to everyone for over a year you suck at making excuses. Library? During your break?”

 

Alex glared at her. “What are you trying to say, Kara?”

 

“Maggie thinks they’re shitty lies. She knows you’re lying to her!” Kara felt anger bubbling under the surface. She had processed more and more, how Winn said it was so terrible to be in the dark. She knew parts of her had to be in the dark, but she didn’t want that for others. Not Alex. Especially if it was causing pain.

 

“You lie every day of your life,” Alex hissed, defensive. Kara heard a pop and looked down to see she shattered the pill bottle and the little red circular pills were on the floor. The two silently moved and cleaned them up.

 

Kara set her jaw. “Alex she’s convinced you’re cheating on her. The only reason she’s stuck around this long is that she feels alone without you.”

 

Alex stopped and hung her head. “I’m guessing she told you about the emancipation.” It had been months in reality. Maggie started senior year technically fending for herself. She was paying Victoria and with that got a bed and meals, but if the money stopped coming she would’ve been out of the house.

 

“She may have mentioned it.” Kara sat on the floor. Alex leaned against the island and sighed. She rubbed her temple.

 

“What do I do?” It wasn’t rhetorical. She needed to know as she had just gone on day to day, lie to lie. Winn already said it wasn’t substantial. She never expected Kara, a woman whose life story is a white lie, to feel that way as well.

 

Kara leaned in, staring at Alex. Half her face was in the shadow while the other was under the yellow light of the outdoor light outside the kitchen window. “Tell her, Alex. She knows so much already. And James knows for crying out loud.” Kara gestured widely. Alex wanted to fire back that Lena didn’t know, but that was different. She didn’t already know Kara’s secret. And she in ways did know that Alex had a career she hid from her partner. And as far as she knew, Lena was just a friend to Kara.

 

“My own mother doesn’t even know.” Alex hushed her voice, worrying that they would wake up Eliza.

 

“Aren’t you tired then? Tired of lying to them? Alex, I have a secret I truly can never tell. But you…it’s just a job. I understand why the stranger down the street or that fellow student can’t know but your own mother? Your girlfriend you have given a promise ring to?”

 

Alex tipped her head back. “I’ll tell her in the morning. I’ll tell mom soon.” She frowned. “She thinks I’m cheating?”

 

“You lie, you’re somewhere else mentally, you smell like someone else…I know that’s just because you’re shoulder to shoulder with other agents while you work but she doesn’t. It’s just a new scent on you.” Kara looked at her. “I can’t blame her as I think about it. I know you’re a loyal person, but it’s some tell-tale signs. Also, you’re protective of your phone. That’s for work, but she doesn’t know that.”

 

“How did you know to find her?” Kara hopped up and then helped Alex to her feet.

 

“Ugh, get this. Mon-el called me and said she was at his bar getting wasted. He was eyeing me down the whole fucking time. I’m glad he isn’t the one with heat vision.” Kara laughed humorlessly. “He does that at practice. I can’t wait for him to out of the school next year so I can have some peace.” Kara pushed her hair back and sighed.

 

“Thank you for taking care of her for me.”

 

“Any day. She’s special to me too.”

 

Alex sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I feel like shit over this.” She frowned. “Cheating? I could never!”

 

“I know for certain.” Kara cleaned up the bottle, holding the plastic shards in her palm.

 

“But she doesn’t, yeah, yeah.” She brushed Kara off. She took the pills and put them in a baggie. She took the water bottle and took them upstairs.

 

Kara was surprised as she saw Lena had messaged her.

 

**_Lena: you still up?_ **

****

**_Yup why are you_ **

****

**_Lena: I am who I am_ **

****

**_Lena: and I wanted to say I’m glad I’m with you_ **

****

Kara smiled softly.

 

**_I adore you Miss Luthor_ **

****

**_Now try to sleep we can’t have you cranky tomorrow_ **

****

Kara sighed and put her phone in her front pocket.

 

She heard a stirring in the guest room as she passed it. She stopped.

 

“…and that’s the end of it.” Alex finished as Kara tuned in.

 

“You’re part of a secret government organization specializing in aliens. And you were chosen because of all that happened with Kara.”

 

“Well, not just Kara. I did this before she became Supergirl. But she did trigger its formation.”

 

“Why should I believe you?” Her tone was low. She was likely sobered up, though Kara wasn’t positive if she would remember this. She probably would. Probably.

 

“Because I have to make you sign some non-disclosure documents. And I have to say I’m telling you because I love you and I don’t want to lose you and you deserve to know what’s happening. Eliza doesn’t know but she will. You know the drill with Winn and James.”

 

“I do now. So, you all just lied.”

 

“We had to. They didn’t want to, but they signed the documents as well.”

 

“Fine.”

 Kara strolled off, wanting to give them true privacy. She strolled into her room, met with the wall of fishing wire and photographs.

She looked at the photo of Lena she took the first day they met. How she looked like a deer in the headlights. She looked at one she took on their first date. Across from Lena, the girl playfully trying to stop the photo from capturing her face.

 

Kara grabbed the string of photos she had made of Lena, what had replaced Mon-el’s strand. She rubbed over the surface of a photo from Rocky Horror and bit her lip.

 

_I’m lying to you. I live a double life with you. The friend Supergirl and the girlfriend Kara. What would you do?_

She let go of the strand and sighed. She changed for bed and climbed under the covers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I know I suck at replying to comments but I do appreciate every one of them. And kudos. It makes my day to see them in my inbox and I read every single one.


	23. Second Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena go on their second date, shopping for everyone and enjoying the clear skies of the winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at my Christmas chapters coming in February. That sums me up lately. But! I have eight thousand words plus this chapter to publish over the next week so look forward to that. It may involve tears. It's going to be tears. I almost cried. But like good tears.

Kara watched in from the hall, peeking through the crack. Maggie was hugging a pillow as Eliza and Alex sat with her. They were discussing what Maggie was to do from here.

 

“You can stay here as long as you need,” Eliza told her, voice quiet. She took Maggie’s hand and the girl smile graciously.

 

“I’d hate to be a burden—”

 

“Never,” Alex told her. “Maggie, you’re part of the family.” Maggie bit her lip and looked up.

 

Busted. Kara stepped away but Maggie stood and pulled the door open. Kara waved awkwardly.

 

“Kara,” Eliza sighed. Kara stepped in slowly.

 

“Sorry, I just—it’s impossible not to hear you. Maggie, you should stay here. It’ll be better and you can actually save money and not spend it all on paying rent.”

 

“I couldn’t stay here and not do anything. That’d be taking advantage of you!” Maggie sank back down on the bed.

 

“Nonsense. If you’re uncomfortable…it can just be for a bit. Doesn’t have to be permanent. Just think, you’ll be starting college soon. Just a few more months. It wouldn’t be very long.”

 

Maggie lied back. “I’ll sleep on it. But a few nights wouldn’t be so terrible.” Eliza smiled at that.

 

“It’s settled then.” She patted the girl’s leg and stood up. “What did you need Kara?”

 

“Oh, just waiting for Lena to pick me up.” She patted her thighs, lingering.  

 

“Have fun dear,” Eliza told her. She kissed Kara’s cheek. “Now, I have to go before I’m late for work. Stay out of trouble and text me if you need anything.” The three girls wished her good day and that they would behave. Eliza moved and gave Alex and Maggie a kiss on the cheek before she left the room, leaving the girls. The couple stared at Kara.

 

“I’m too tired to press,” Maggie mumble and rested her head on Alex’s knee. “Does Eliza know yet?”

 

“I wanted her to be calm when we talked with you,” Alex told her. “I’ll tell her tonight when she gets home from work.”

 

“Good luck,” Kara told her. She strolled out and held her bag tight at her side as it held her suit. She hoped not to need it but she was also always on the clock.

 

She stepped outside as Lena pulled up. She got in and pulled Lena in for a kiss. She felt the woman straighten up and her hand went to Kara’s shoulder. She pushed Kara off after briefly returning the kiss.

“Let’s put a pin this,” Lena whispered. Kara pouted. “Come on. We’ve waited too long for this.” She pulled out and drove off. “So, what’s been going on in the Danvers’ household?”

 

Kara sighed. “Maggie’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

 

“Did her and Miss Victoria get in a fight?” Lena looked briefly at her girlfriend before returning her focus on the road.

 

Kara clicked through Lena’s phone to find a song as she went on. “Her aunt isn’t really taking care of her. Found out she’s just without any guardian. When her parents gave her up they signed off their rights, and she had a job then so a judge approved it. Her aunt offered her cheap board because National City is so fucking expensive, of course, a part-time kid couldn’t afford to live anywhere…”

 

Lena bit her lip. “That’s terrible,” she whispered.

 

“If she told us sooner, we would’ve done more.”

 

“I mean, I can see why she kept it secret. It’s not a good reason. Precisely this. You look like you’re talking about a wounded animal, Kara.” Lena went through a turn.

 

“So? Do I just do nothing to spare her pride?”

 

“No, I’ve seen people do that. And saying no one wants Maggie to die, I see doing something as the obvious choice. Yet, using your little voice won’t do it. That’s good when someone’s in tears, but when you want them to take your help when they’re humiliated?”

 

Kara rested her head against the window. “What can I do?” she whispered.

 

Lena bit her lip. She had suspicions but had no idea Maggie’s situation was this bad. She could easily do something. Eliza had two girls to take off to college. The Danvers were better off, but there was still the consideration of Eliza was a single mother about to have two kids in college to pay for. And Maggie’s expenses were still there even if her tuition was paid…and she was going to have her hours cut during college.

 

“Be there to listen, give rides to work, let her pull her weight around the house so she doesn’t feel terrible. Not saying rent, I mean like meals and cleaning.” Lena shrugged, formulating a plan in her head.

 

“Right,” she muttered. She could tell Kara was thinking about. Thinking about people like Lena, sitting on too much money that no one could spend in their lifetime.

 

* * *

 

Kara scrolled through her phone as Lena was having a grand old time in the store they were in. She had already stacked up a bunch of bags and boxes now in Kara’s hands or under her arm.

 

The girl got side-tracked from their quest for Maggie’s gifts for Lena to try on some clothes. Kara leaned against the wall and yawned. “We’re getting coffee after this,” Kara said to Lena through the door.

 

“Alright.” Kara looked around and made eye contact with a teenaged boy. He had ginger scruff that was patchy and had a purse next to him on the bench. He smiled at her when he realized the situation.

 

He shrugged a bit and looked back down at his phone. It was an odd moment of solidarity.

 

Kara snapped back when Lena called out, “hey, come in here for a sec.”

 

Kara looked at the boxes and bags and sighed. She opened the door, dropping them there.

 

“What do you—oh.” She turned away right then. A bodysuit, a velvet bodysuit is what she wore. A lovely red color and so much skin. She felt her blood rush to her face and her heart thrummed.

 

“What do you think?” Lena smirked, seeing Kara blush so profusely. She put a hand on her hip.

 

Kara bit her lip, wishing she had something cocky to say. Where was her other persona’s confidence in this moment? “It’s very—small.” Kara screamed on the inside. She coughed into her fist. “I mean… _very good_. I like it. Y-you need to buy this. And I have to…”

 

Lena smirked as Kara put her hands on Lena's waist. She leaned down to kiss her but Lena shook her head, causing her to pause. “No-no. Just wanted your thoughts. I’ll have to get it.”

 

Kara fought back groaning and stepped back. “It’s certainly something.” She ran her hand up and down Lena’s waist. “Ooh, soft.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you to change.” She grabbed the abandoned bags and boxes and stepped out. She sank down and focused on breathing to calm herself.

 

She tried to remember if she ever got riled up by someone. She knew she liked men, but Mon-el didn’t do it for her when she saw him naked. His smirk would make her feel gawked at. But with Lena…she felt like a goddess, yet also like the peasant who had somehow caught the queen’s eye. She could be everything or nothing, she just had to choose.

 

Lena came out dressed normally. After she checked out the pair strolled through the street.

 

“You sure you don’t want me to carry something?” Lena asked.

 

“Nah, I got it.” Kara took her hand with her free hand. “Okay, so we bought all of the boulevard, what’s next?” She looked at Lena, though was stopped in her tracks.

 

Lena followed her gaze and saw the dress in the window. Kara’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the bright red dress. The back was partially open, slits done in a v style to a central stripe, the lines going to the rib area. It had a v-neckline and slits in the skirt. The sleeves were sheer.

 

“Pretty,” she mumbled. She started to keep walking, but Lena took her hand to stop her.

 

“Hey, why not go try it on?”

 

Kara motioned to the store: Versace.

 

“And?” Lena took her hand and they came in. Kara expected them to glare at them, they were teenagers. But the woman on the floor just came up. She smiled pleasantly.

 

“Can I help you Miss Luthor?” Her voice was high, like a bird’s in sound. She was in the body type of one—willowy.

 

“Julia, that dress in the window. Do you have it in the size…” Lena looked at her girlfriend’s figure. “Eight?”

Kara nearly passed out when she saw the tag as Julia retrieved it. She looked at Lena. “That is five thousand dollars.”

 

“Oh, don’t round so much. It’s just forty-five hundred. It stopped you dead in your tracks. I think it’s worth a try on.” Lena took the dress and led Kara to the fitting room.

 

“I think you thought the same thing about me,” Kara joked.

 

“Day one.” Lena smiled as Kara stumbled. Kara put down all the bags and took the dress. She shut the door and stripped down.

 

Lena waited, texting an old friend of her father’s.

 

**_I have a task for you, cashing in one of my father’s favors_ **

****

**_Bruce: Oh, dear what can an old man like me do for a girl like you?_ **

****

**_How about you signing a lease for me? I intend to pay the rent and find the location. My main concern is my age and the age of the person who will be living there. She had nowhere to go and is a good friend of mine and I want to help_ **

****

**_Bruce: Tell me more and I just might be able to do that._ **

****

Lena smiled and tucked her phone away. Kara stepped out and Lena felt her knees go weak. The way it hugged her curves, showed her legs and arms…the tease of the back with the slits. It was perfect.

 

“You look— _wow_ ,” was all Lena could muster. Her cheeks had to be pure red. “Pair of heels and you’re dressed to kill.”

 

Kara looked at herself in the mirror. There was a disconnect. Hair tied up and glasses on didn’t bode well with the outfit. Yet it knocked out Lena still. Kara could find about ten flaws with herself in this. Her legs weren’t shaved, she was wearing converse because she could barely stand heels, she had no breasts to fill it out. Yet…

 

“I haven’t seen anyone look this good,” Lena told her. She walked over and put her arms around Kara’s midsection and they locked eye through the mirror. “It was made for you. I think Donatella would be personally offended if we walked out of this store without it.”

 

“Lena—”

 

“Merry Christmas?” Lena looked at her, smiling sheepishly.  “C’mon. You can wear it for the dinner.”

 

Kara looked at herself again. It was beautiful. “I’m going to go change.”

 

Lena stopped Julia. “Ring up that dress for me. But I want it delivered.” The woman just smiled at her and the two worked quick. Lena signed it off, giving the address and writing a card for the package.

 

She was back outside as Kara came out in her normal clothes. She smiled at Lena. “Come on, let’s go to the rink.”

 

Lena stretched and yawned a bit. “I’m actually a bit tuckered out. How about we drive for a little? Stop up somewhere?”

 

Kara smiled slightly. “Anything you’d like.” She grabbed the bags and they left. “How often do you come here for one of them to know you?”

 

“It’s because Lex comes here so much to get his cohorts at the time gifts, or the ladies in his office that he is grateful for their loyalty. His secretary is getting a Gucci purse this Christmas.”

 

“Jeez…”

 

“You didn’t notice? All of Kent’s ties are pure silk, Vuitton pieces.” They got to the car and Kara put the bags in the back. She tipped her head back in her seat, mind going to Kal in that moment. Since Lionel died, she hadn’t heard a single thing from him.

 

“I didn’t.”

 

Lena drove off, leaving the city and heading for hills. “Can I be honest?”

 

“Always.” Kara put her hand out the window, feeling the cool wind on her hand. She looked over at her girlfriend.

 

“Part of me wants to be with Lex again. I just…worry.” Lena sighed. “He’s been paranoid…and doesn’t talk about his projects like he used to.”

 

“He’s also competing with others who would do anything for his ideas, I’m sure it’s just some paranoia over that,” Kara said, trying to assume the best. She made a mental note to mention it to Kal. “I don’t think you need to worry yourself about a grown man. Be the kid in your family.”

 

“I wouldn’t just up and leave, I swear,” Lena told her. Kara shrugged.

 

“Honestly? I’d do that for Clark.” She would have to be, at times as a young kid, stopped by Eliza to not go and help Kal out in the world. It was terrifying. She could be by his side in minutes but the limits of sanity, of ties, the fears of others—they held her to the city like a leash.

 

“You’d probably do that for anyone.”

 

“Well, most of the people I care about are within five miles of me. He’s the exception.” Kara shut the window and tucked her hand into her pocket.

 

Lena got to an overlook as the sunset. The car had barely stopped when Kara ran out to watch the last colors, purples, and oranges or the fleeting moments of the sunset. She sat on the hood.

 

Lena joined her after turning off the car and they lied back on hood, against the windshield. Kara looked down at Lena. The girl was rubbing her hands together, as the elevation had given a good ten-degree drop in the weather. “You cold?” Kara asked her. The girl just nodded and Kara took off her letterman. She put it around Lena’s shoulders and then pulled her close.

 

The sun died away and they were left with the moon and the stars they wouldn’t have been able to see in the city.

 

“Do you know about constellations or is it just history for you?” Lena teased.

 

“I know the mythology of them, but not really their locations. I mean if you were talking Jupiter’s stars and suns, I’m your gal—but just not Earth.” She could actually map out the galaxies and the stars and their ages, but Earth’s? Those she was rusty on, but to be fair Krypton didn’t value them much and scientists here knew so little of their own solar system. It was comical.

 

“Well…” Lena looked up, extending a finger. “There is Canis Major.”

 

“I just don’t see a dog in those stars.” She smiled softly. “What else is up there?”

 

“Hm…” Lena’s eyes searched and she gasped. “There! Perseus!” She sat up and pointed. Kara followed her finger but failed to see the cluster of stars.

 

“I don’t see him. That hero with his Medusa head is hiding from me.” She adjusted her glasses.

 

“Can I guide you?” Kara nodded at Lena. The girl grabbed her chin and inclined her head and moved it closer to hers. She pointed again. “See him?”

 

Kara felt her face burn at the contact. She wanted to kiss her but she also wanted to just see that shining glee in Lena as she searched. She found the twenty stars with their man-like figure formed. They adjusted so that Lena was sat between Kara’s legs and leaning into her while Kara was against the windshield and holding her close.

 

“The milky way passes right through him.” Lena’s voice was quiet and she was in awe. Kara chuckled softly at it. “And that bright star at his right leg? That’s Algol. It’s supposed to be Medusa’s eye.”

 

“You know Medusa’s head was a symbol that it was a women’s home in Greece? And Athena thought she was protecting her,” Kara mumbled.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I think Medusa was a big ole lesbian,” Kara joked, drawing a brief bit of laughter from Lena.

 

“Hating men so much I turn them to stone? That’s a mood,” Lena giggled. She looked up at the sky, expression stoic. “I had this big telescope when I was a kid. Lex taught me how to use it and we would spend weekends, mapping how the stars looked and we would connect the dots of the constellations in the sky from what we remembered. We’d race to find a zodiac in the sky.”

 

“Isn’t it Gemini around this time?” Kara looked up.

 

“Race you,” Lena whispered.

 

“You’re on.” They spent the next few moments in silence. Kara was lucky that was one of the few she could recall. It actually looked like two people with their arms around each other.

 

Lena pointed out and there the pair stood. Kara hugged her close and kissed her head.

 

“You’re a strange woman, Kara,” Lena told her. Kara pouted and looked up at the sky.

 

“That was sudden.”

“I was just thinking about it. You’re not like anyone I’ve met. They’re kind of to take at face value—though I can’t tell if that was who they are or if we all just had this façade and failed to see we all wanted something more than what our parents were forcing, I digress—yet you, are something I can’t look at and just decode. I have to think and look in more. Some days I feel like I know everything but others I feel like I haven’t even scraped the surface when I want to swim in you.”

 

Kara bit her lip. “There’s a lot I don’t talk about.” She tipped her head back. “I know in time that I’ll tell you more. Just know it’s not that I like being secretive, it’s just damn near impossible to—”

 

“No, I get it. Just, if it can hurt one of us, tell me okay? Can you promise you’ll do at least that?”

 

“I promise.” Kara kissed her cheek. “Let’s get back.”

 

“How come I’m at my happiest around you?”

 

“I think it’s this little thing called contentment. Get used to it.” Kara smiled at Lena when she got off the hood. Lena leaned in and kissed her briefly. She could still feel the pressure and the warmth when Lena pulled away. It spread to her heart and put a buzz in her fingertips.

 

She slid off the hood and got back into the car. Kara wasn’t ready for the date to end as they drove to her house.

 

“You think she’ll get uncomfortable at all I got?" 

 

“I think she knows you don’t come out of pity.” Kara looked at her. “What you said about the wounded animal look, I don’t think you have one of those for her. Why I think she likes you so much.”

 

Lena nodded slowly. She pulled up to the Danvers’ home and puts it in park. She looked over at her girlfriend. “This is where we say goodbye for now.”

 

Kara smiled softly and put a hand to her cheek. She leaned down and kissed Lena. She was slow and brief, parting and looking down at Lena. The girl looked at her with hooded eyes.

 

“Rao save me,” Kara breathed.

 

“What?” Lena arched a brow.

 

“ _Wow_ , save me,” Kara said quickly, scrambling to get off her seatbelt and out. She fell onto the concrete head first.

 

“Kara!” She lied there as she heard Lena scramble out and around the car. Lena knelt next to her and helped her sat up. She looked at her head. “You okay?”

 

“Uh, yeah…why wouldn’t I be?” Kara squinted at her.

 

“You fell right on the side of your face. You could’ve lost a tooth or scrapped you cheek up—something.” Lena saw her face was still flawless and all that was bothered was her glasses, now with a snapped frame.

 

“Ah, fuck,” Kara muttered as the left lens fell out. She took off her glasses and looked at Lena. The girl stood quickly. Kara jumped up to her feet. “I ruined a nice moment didn’t I?”

Lena chuckled. “Get inside.” She opened the trunk for Kara to grab what she bought. Kara moved quick, planted a kiss on Lena’s forehead and then ran inside.

 

Lena sighed to herself. _She’s an actual human puppy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly am so lonely that I swooned and just took a few pages from my hopeless romantic imagination. Gotta love being single around Valentine's Day.


	24. Dinner at the Danvers'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Eve Dinner. Kara is anxious about coming out. Eliza's surprise for her doesn't help. 
> 
> Small instances of Danvers family love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this night as one chapter . . . that was almost eight-thousand words so gift-giving is the next chapter.

Kara got back from work with Alex, the two carrying a box of papers that as a punishment, they had to digitize by hand. No scanning. It had to be a document. Alex sheepishly said it wasn’t the worst she had gotten. She had gotten into a fight with one of her superiors, running off her mouth and ended up having to clean and reassemble every gun they had in the DEO.

 

Alex faltered when she saw Eliza. The woman was sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee mug and a bottle of tequila. No cap on it and the line had gone from just below the neck to the label.

 

“I’m guessing you told her,” Kara whispered, as their punishment had not been disclosed to her entirely. Alex nodded silently. They put their boxes on the island and Eliza stared at them. It was blank.

 

“Mom—”

 

“How was work?” Eliza mumbled, running her fingers through her hair. She frowned and Alex noticed that her brow was knitted with worry. She looked older than ever and the girls were so used to seeing her face bright and alive. Almost fresh as theirs.

 

“Um, I have that non-disclosure document for you.” Alex put down her box and pulled a folded up document from her pocket. She undid it and slid it to Eliza along with a pen.

 

The woman sighed and quickly signed. She pushed it away and capped the bottle up. “No.” She stood and put it on the counter. It was harsh, causing a slam to make the girls jump. “I—Alex why did you do this?” She spat.

 

“So, I fight and I get scorned but when Kara becomes a hero she is given a pat on the back—”

 

“I’m sorry but are you bulletproof? Can you half a bus with your sight? Can you see and hear where a clot is or fly away from all danger? No?” Eliza leaned against the counter. She sighed and rubbed her brow. “I’m sorry...” She sucked in a breath. “I can’t lose you too. Or either of you for that matter.” She covered her mouth, refusing to cry.

 

The girls looked at each other briefly before moving and enveloping Eliza in a hug. The mother sobbed quietly and hugged them as tight as she could.  

 

“I’ll be careful,” Alex whispered.

 

“Me too. We love you,  Eliza.”

 

Eliza held them tight. “I love you so much. Both of you.”

 

“Love you too,” the girls echoed.

 

Kara let go. “There’s more for you two discuss. I’ll be upstairs.” She grabbed the boxes and went up to her room.

* * *

 

Maggie poured three cups of coffee, watching from her spot at the kitchen island as the sisters groaned and were slumped on the table. Their laptops and scattered papers were laid out before them.

 

“Everything hurts,” Alex groaned. Her fingers were in a fist and when she did a bit of pressure every single one cracked. “Ugh!”

 

“It’s my worst nightmare,” Maggie joked. Kara glared at her, disrupting her from staring into space. “Did you think to use your superspeed Kara?”

 

“I tried. It made my computer crash at how fast my typing was.  I had to do it all at normal speed. Earth tech fucking sucks,” she muttered. She grabbed the coffee and drank it in a gulp. She slammed it down. “More.”

 

Maggie chuckled and poured her another. “So Eliza’s all good with it?”

 

“We talked about it. It was almost an hour…” Alex smiled a bit. “I hadn’t felt closer to her in a while. We discussed my role there, how I feel about it, what I’ve done, and what college ties into it. It was…exactly what I needed.”

 

“Good.” Maggie kissed her forehead before sitting with the pair. “I’m proud of you.”

 

“It was worse than coming out.” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. “I want to hear good news to feel better.”

 

“I got a raise at work. So instead of making shit…I am making scraps.” Maggie clicked her tongue and Alex patted her leg.

 

“You talk to Victoria?” Kara asked. Maggie paused and put her cup down.

 

“I’m moving out. While you guys were at work I picked up my stuff. Eliza drove me and waited for me.” Maggie sighed. Her aunt hadn’t said anything. She was kind enough to give Maggie the money she had paid in advance for January, giving her some money to begin saving for a deposit on her own actual home.

 

But she knew what she was making wasn’t enough and her hours during college would only be worse. There was no taking a year either. Her scholarship was now.

 

She looked at Alex when the woman placed a hand on her thigh. “Would you be against me getting a sugar mommy?”

 

“Only for like fifty reasons.” Alex arched a brow.

 

Maggie nudged her and sat back. The trio made light chat about Kara’s plans for the paper in the next semester when they had a knock at the door.

 

“I got it.” Maggie got up and patted the exhausted women on the shoulder. She strolled to the door and opened it.

 

She met eyes with a man dressed in an immaculate suit. He had a stoic expression and held the clothes box one got at a store. It had a red ribbon on it and the Versace logo.

 

“Can I help you?” she finally said.

 

“I’m here from the Versace store on Rodeo Drive. A young adult of high-esteem had this sent to a Miss Kara Danvers. Are you her?”

 

“No, but you have the right place. I’ll take it for her.”

 

He thanked her and gave over the package. He tipped his cap and walked off.

 

“What the fuck?” Maggie whispered to herself as she shut the door. She entered the kitchen. “Kara!”

 

The heroine jumped as she was ducking her head down into a dozing position. “What?”

 

“Did you get a sugar daddy without telling anyone?” Maggie put the package on the table, on top of the papers.

 

Kara turned red. “Oh…” She grabbed the card off and opened it. She smiled to herself.

 

Kara couldn’t stop the other two women as they opened the box and saw a red dress. “Holy fuck this dress is like five thousand,” Maggie whispered.

 

“Forty-five. Don’t round,” Kara mumbled. She grabbed it and she was pure red. “It’s…uh—”

 

“What’s the rich boy’s name?” Alex asked. Maggie and Alex shared a look. They knew.

 

“Well, Lena got it for me. We had stopped by the store and I saw this.” Kara was bright red. “I told her not to get it. She didn’t. Guess she waited to make sure I got it when I couldn’t object.” She chuckled softly.

 

“Some friend,” Maggie said lightly. She knew it was one of two things. One, they were in love. Two, Lena was sugaring Kara.

 

Kara smiled to herself. It wasn’t a joyous smile. It was the smile Maggie knew she would get when she got flowers sent to her by Alex or the girl surprised her at work. It was love and feeling loved.

 

She chuckled to herself. “It’s pretty.” She looked at Kara. “When are you getting your glasses fixed?”

 

“By the time we get back to school. Won’t be before Christmas Eve.” Kara sighed. Maggie hugged her from behind. Kara put a hand on her forearm. “You have any nice clothes for dinner?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“I have some stuff you can wear.” Kara kissed the back of her hand. “You’re my sister too, Maggie.” The couple locked eyes and blushed a bit. Kara shut her laptop.

 

“Where did you get that by the way?” Maggie checked it out. Better than the one Mon-el destroyed a while back.

 

“Lena gave me her old one.”

 

“This looks like it would’ve been brand new.”

 

“Well…it was. Lex bought her one but she already had a laptop so she just gave it to me.” Kara shrugged. She sent their files to Hank and sat back. She packed up the papers. “I’m going to get some shut-eye.” She saluted to the pair and went upstairs.

 

* * *

 

 

The pattern of the blinking lights mirrored the erratic heartbeat of our heroine. She paced the halls, fiddling with the skirt of her dress as time counted towards the guests arriving. She had no need to worry about rejection, really. Alex already came out so she knew how Eliza felt and the others were part of the community as well.

 

It was simple until Eliza surprised Kara. Kara had noticed more presents than usual. She went to check them and noticed Lois and Clark’s names on the tags. The presents she picks and thought Eliza was mailing were there under the tree.

 

She had come to Eliza, questioning why. Eliza had just smiled and explained.

 

“I was hoping their arrival would be a surprise,” she said, faking disappointment. “Your snooping has ruined my plans.”

 

“Lois and Clark are coming,” Kara said. Eliza nodded.

 

Now she was nervous. She knew they were generally open but there was also so many different factors. It bit at her heart with guilt as she felt a bit of shame. Lex was so scathing to Kal, and here she was falling for Lex’s little sister. She knew Lena wasn’t Lex. Definitely wasn’t. Yet…

 

“Ugh!” She leaned into a wall, not harming it as she wore her ring for the time being. She would destroy everything if she went through an episode of anxiety without it.

 

She looked up and saw Alex and Maggie just staring at her.

 

Maggie had her arm around Alex. She wore one of Kara’s suits. This one was the black one she wore on her first date. They were too big, fixed up with safety pins. She looked younger than the lot of them for this reason.

 

“You okay Kara?” Maggie asked.

 

“Uh…just flabbergasted that Clark’s coming.” She wrung her fingers and smiled at them. “And Lois. I haven’t seen her since the summer.”

 

“Yeah. It’s great.” Alex took her hand. Kara nodded a little at her. “You look amazing in the dress. I think Lena just set up her own death.”

 

Kara just nodded a tad and walked off. She rubbed her brow and let out a shaky breath. She nearly bolted when someone knocked. She beat Eliza to the door, yanking it open to see James and Winn. “Merry Christmas!” Winn cheered. He stepped up and hugged Kara. James stepped in, carrying the gifts and the platter of cookies his mother sent him with. “Oh wow, that’s a dress.” The couple stared for a bit.

 

“Wow—did you buy that yourself?” James asked. She shook her head. He looked at his boyfriend. “Lena.” Winn nodded a bit and shrugged.

 

Kara chuckled, relaxing in having Winn there. He knew and was there for her. He said he was when she called him up and talked how she planned on coming out tonight.

 

“You sure this is it Kar?” he whispered.

 

“No other time they’ll all be around together anyways.”

 

He nodded and went to greet Eliza in the kitchen. James smiled softly at Kara. “I heard Clark’s coming.”

 

“Yeah.” She smiled forcibly. He pulled her to his side. “Go get a drink. We have water boiling for tea.” He perked up and walked to the kitchen.

 

Kara gasped a bit in shock when the doorbell went off again minutes later. She yanked it opened again and saw Lena there with a man Kara could just barely recall as her old driver. Tyler?

 

“Miss Kara, good to see you again,” he said. He was carrying bags as was Lena as well.

 

“Hey, it’s nice to see you again.” She turned her gaze down. Lena had gotten gifts for everyone, but especially Maggie as she was her secret Santa and they didn’t put a price cap on. Lena had caught on that Maggie wore very consistently the same things, and figured out why when they found out she was an emancipated minor with no resources outside her own earnings.

 

Kara was admittedly nervous about the idea of a negative reaction out of Maggie.

 

“I know.” Lena came in her driver behind her. “Thanks for helping Taylor.”

 

He smiled softly and put the gifts under the tree. “Anytime, Lena. It was nice to take a break escorting your mother around. You’ve been out there all by yourself since you got your license.” She hugged him and he wished the two a good night before leaving.

 

Lena smiled at Kara. “You look lovely in the dress,” she said. She hadn’t really seen Kara in a dress. She didn’t mind the change in role. Not when she could see her legs and arms. Not when this feminine side had its own charm along with that natural raw energy Kara had that attracted people to her. “Lovely” was the understatement of the year.

 

“Says you.” Lena’s dress was a black sleeved dress with gold patterns that mirrored art deco metalworks in their design. She wanted to pull her close and kiss her, but she felt eyes on them from the kitchen. “I should warn you Clark will be around.”

 

They walked to the kitchen. “I’ll play nice,” Lena mumbled. She smiled and everyone that was there hugged her and wished her a Merry Christmas.

 

Lena offered two bottles of red wine to Eliza. “Same type right from the Luthor cellar. I got consent, don’t worry.”

 

“I think we can crack it open, give you kids one glass.” She smiled and hugged Lena. “It’s so good to see you, dear. I’m glad you’re doing better. How’s the rib?”

 

“Mostly healed.” Lena smiled. Lena got herself a cup of tea and Kara answered the door moments later.

 

“Kara!” Kal pulled her in a bear hug once the door had opened. He stepped in. “It’s so good to see you!” He put her down and kissed her cheek.

 

Lois came in, laughing. “I can’t beat that but bring it in, Kara.” Kara smiled and hugged her cousin close. “So how have you been? Clark told me about your year being…interesting.”

 

“I’ll tell you more about it later.” Kara led them in. Everyone had congregated in the kitchen.

 

Clark stopped when he locked eyes with Lena. She sipped her tea.

 

“We really do keep meeting,” he said. “If I knew I would’ve gotten you a gift.”

 

“Nice tie. LV?” She smiled at him. He looked down and then turned around to take it off. “Lois, I haven’t seen you since that charity function for CMT research. How’s Lucy?”

 

Lois raised her chin. “She just started at NYU. How’s Lex? He home for Christmas?”

 

“No. No rest for the wicked it seems. He’s probably hunched over a desk and mumbling about compounds and lasers.” She smiled lightly. “How’s Metropolis? I’m sure it’s snowing over there around this season.”

 

“Yeah, we barely got a flight out,” Clark sighed. He rubbed his chin.

 

“I miss it. I’m sure I really will when I have my first California summer,” Lena joked.

 

Eliza sent everyone but Alex and Lena to the living room. The two volunteered to help her set the table.

 

Kara watched as Clark hugged James. “So, when are you going to graduate and join the Daily Planet?”

 

“I told you I’m trying for the Tribune.”

 

“Come on. I can promise you travel pay and sixty thousand a year. No school? No debt?”

 

“I like it around here. Thanks again Clark.” Kara knew he did that every time they met face to face.

 

Maggie and Clark bumped fists. “Hey kid, what’s on the Sawyer agenda?” He smiled at her.

 

“Finding an apartment and a better job. What about you Kent?”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Dealing with a bit of traction. Working for that promotion. Same thing every year.”

 

Kara finally came up and Lois finished her conversation with Winn to approach as well. They stepped outside.

 

“I heard you met Lex,” Clark said. Kara shrugged. “Also, where are your glasses?”

 

“Broke them on a date,” Kara said.

 

“If any boy roughed you up—” Lois started, but Kara was quick.

 

“No, I fell out of the girl’s car. And we all know they would be fucked up if they tried it.”

That shut them up. “You’re gay,” Clark said. She shook her head.

 

“Saying Lucy is bi like I am, I know you don’t care, Lois. The Kent family raised you to be a gent so I’m sure you’re really just stunned so…” Kara stood there awkwardly.

 

“Can we meet her?” Lois asked. “Before we leave.” Kara nodded and smiled.

 

“She makes me happy. It’s been only a few dates but she does something to me that I didn’t get from Mon. She likes the nerdy side of me, and I know she likes my Super side too.”

 

“Yeah. You got a girl who likes both you have to keep her,” Clark said, smiling at his wife and taking her hand.

 

 _Remember that you said that._ Kara smiled and walked inside. Winn and her locked eyes and he arched his brow. She shook her head. He looked at the tree.

 

“There’s so many,” he whispered to James.

 

“Yeah, I saw Lena walking in with them. Needed a second person,” James whispered back.

 

“You think she’s trying to buy our affection?”

 

“No—well, I don’t think so.” James frowned. “She has it, right?”

 

“I mean I can’t see classes without her. Outings either. You?”

 

“I’m still…I have my doubts, but I would take a bullet for her.” They stop talking when Alex and Lena come out.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, will you follow us to the dining room?” Lena invited. She smiled. Everyone got up and walked to the dining room. Kara stole the seat next to Lena before Winn could. He rolled his eyes and took the head of the table to be next to James. Eliza was at the other head. Maggie and Alex sat together and next to them was Lois and Clark.

 

Lois was occupied in conversation with Maggie as food got passed around. Lois was talking about getting some quotes from Maggie for her recent in-depth piece about abandoned minors.

 

Bowls and trays were passed, everyone filling their plates.

 

“This chicken looks weird,” Clark said to Eliza as he got the small plate.

 

“Oh, that’s the fake meat for Lena.” Eliza passed him the actual chicken.

 

“Thank you, Eliza,” Lena said, smiling. She filled her plate up with it. She looked at Kara’s plate. “No veggies?” Kara made a face. “How do you…have those?” She touched Kara’s back to touch the muscles.

 

Kara smirked at her. Lena bit her lip. It was familiar yet new with Kara not wearing her glasses. “It’s a secret.”

 

“It’s not fair,” Lois said. “Lena these two—” She motioned to Clark and Kara. “—are bottomless pits with six packs.”

Lena smiled at the reporter. “Clark Kent has a six pack?” Clark turned red.

 

“Oh, what’s it matter to you?”

 

“I’m just impressed. Truly, there is steel under that Kansas wheat.” Lena chuckled.  

 

The group quieted down as Eliza tapped her fork on her wine glass. “Now you all know the tradition, but I’m going to explain to our three newcomers.” She smiled. “Since the year is wrapping up and this is a time about the joy of gifts, we tell something we’ve kept in this year and then tell one gift we’ve been happy to receive during this year.”

 

“Kind of like what are you thankful for?” Lena clarified, grabbing for her wine. Eliza nodded.

 

“I’ll go first,” Winn said. He grabbed his glass and spoke. “I am glad for the gift of you, James.” He looked at his boyfriend. James smiled and kissed Winn. “And, Alex I’m proud of you for telling Maggie about your FBI job. You all know how I feel about secrets.”

 

Kara noticed the way his eyes flicked to her. She sipped her drink and the person that went next was Clark. It was him revealing that some of his klutziness was an act to make Lois smile and that his gift was that they had made it to their second anniversary just weeks before.

 

“Thank you for marrying us by the way,” he said to Kara.

 

“On that note…” Kara started. She took a deep breath. Rao, she felt like she was going to pass out.

 

“I’ll go,” Lena said. Kara looked at her. She smiled. “My secret? That week I avoided you all, I was planning on saying fuck it all and moving in with Lex. Give up on normal and date a young well-to-do boy Lex knew. So, with that, I have to say my gift…was all of you.” She looked around at those she had spent the months with. “I know your impressions of me were at times skeptical, but thank you still. Thank you for the experiences, the acceptance, and liking me for myself and not my money. Just being there for me…I didn’t expect any of this when I first walked the halls of NCHS. Thank you.” She looked at Kara. “Especially you Kara. I wouldn’t be as happy as I am without you.”

 

Everyone went ‘aw’ and Eliza kissed Lena on the cheek, telling her she always had a place in the Danvers family. Maggie cursed as she wiped at her eyes. “Fucking Luthor, I’ve cried enough this week.”

 

Kara felt her heart go light and stood up, hands on the table. “Lena and I are dating,” she said. Silverware clattered and everyone was silent.  

 

Clark put his napkin on the table and stood up. He was out the door.

 

“Clark!” Kara chased after him. Lena went to follow but Eliza took her hand and shook her head.

 

“Let them talk it out, honey.” Lena collapsed back into her seat and let out a shaky breath.

 

Kara followed Clark as he walked down the street. They were empty as everyone was naturally inside celebrating. “Kal!” She called and he stopped.

 

He turned on his heel. “You really need to stop this.”

 

“Dating?”

 

“Trusting Luthors!”

 

“She’s just a teenager—”

 

“She holds the highest stake in that company once she reaches the age of twenty-four. She’s worth billions the day she turns eighteen. Kara—I know it’s all butterflies and glamor but when that wears off you have a narcissist—”

 

“You don’t know what my relationship with her is. She’s insecure, she’s sweet, she gives so much and fuck, all she gets will be deserved and used to help others. Kal, give her a chance. She is not her brother.”

 

“She’s under his thumb. You don’t think if he asked her to do something she wouldn’t?”

 

“You said if a woman could take both sides of me to not let her go—”

 

“If she isn’t a Luthor.”

 

Kara set her jaw. “I like how you think you’re saying this with my intentions in mind, but all I hear out of your mouth is “this is about me!”” She jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

 

He glared and with a brush of wind he was gone. “Coward!” She turned around and staggered back. She sat outside on the bench and she felt tears brimming.

 

She heard heels click. “Lena I really just want to be alone,” she muttered.

 

“No, but she did ask for me to check in on what was going on.” She looked up and saw Lois lingering there. “He flew away?”

 

Kara sobbed softly and nodded. Lois sank next to her and pulled her close. “I didn’t think it would change his point of view that much. She’s a kid. I’m a kid. Can’t we just be that? Not a Super? Not a Luthor?”

 

“You should be allowed to.” Lois was holding something back. Kara knew what she was thinking: the girls signed up for it. Lena could sign off her responsibilities but she refused. Kara could’ve been normal but she refused.

 

They couldn’t quit and now they had to live in the world where they held so much power so young and those powers were forcibly made night and day due to the male ego of their relatives.

 

“I fucking refuse to be Lex and Kal.”

 

“You won’t be.” Lois played lazily with Kara’s curls. “Kara, I want to be the first to say congrats. And if what you said about how she made you feel is true, I’m so happy you found that.”

 

Kara wiped at her eyes. “Thank you.”

 

“Let’s go inside. She wanted to chase after you.” Lois and Kara stood and walked inside.

 

The group was mumbling around the table, going quiet as Kara came back in.

 

“He’s taking a walk,” Kara told them. Lena stood and hugged her tight. Kara chuckled sadly. “Heh, thanks, Lena.” She nuzzled her and kissed her cheek. Lena reached up and wiped her cheek.

“You never said what your gift was this year.”

 

“Oh, what I said summed up both. You.” Kara smiled at her.

 

Lena blushed and sank back into her seat.

 

“On others news, my skin has cleared and my crops are flourishing because of this news,” Winn joked.

 

“You knew,” James said and then sipped his wine. Winn hung his head.

 

“I did.”

 

“I could tell the second Kara pulled that dress out of that box,” Maggie said. She smiled at Kara and Lena. “But we all knew the second we saw you two together that it should be. Just saying.”

 

“What we’re trying to see you guys are dense about love and it was painfully obvious,” James said.

 

Kara smiled softly and under the table, Lena took her hand. Kara rubbed her thumb over Lena’s knuckles and Clark eventually came back. Kara checked her phone to see a video of Superman stopping a fire in National City.

 

He nodded at her as dessert was served. “I should apologize,” he told the two girls. “I’m sorry for overreacting. I’m sure this isn’t like Lex and mine’s relationship—friendship. Friendship.” He sighed. “How many dates?”

 

“Just two, but we confessed after Lena got home from the hospital,” Kara told him. She was cautious.

 

“Who knows?”

 

“Just you guys. And my old nanny Taylor. Lillian and Lex don’t know,” Lena told him. “I’m not keeping Kara in the dark, but I know it’s easier and safer if they don’t know.”

 

Kara smirked at her. “You look like a completely different person without your glasses,” Lena told her.

 

“It’s just glasses,” Kara chuckled nervously. She shrugged and put a bite of chocolate cream pie up to Lena. She leaned in and took the fork into her mouth and pulled away.

 

The group listened to James’ stories about his recent investigation and photography.

 

“His story broke my heart. He had his brother’s initials on his knuckle and he spoke like a man who was in his seventies—worked down and sage. At twenty-three.”

 

“James you’re really talented,” Lena whispered, looking at the photos he took on his phone that they passed around.

 

“No—it’s all the subjects. I just have the camera.”

 

“Oh, don’t be modest. You could win a World Press Photo Award, James. I’m not talking that Superman photo. Those pictures of what humanity is…I haven’t met a journalist who makes millions to match it and I’ve been in their circles since I can remember,” Lena said. “I mean I see why Clark wants to snap you up before anyone else can. Once you get to college and get more polish? It’s over.”

 

He paused and looked chuckled sheepishly then. He was blushing. “I’m flattered, Lena.”

 

“Good. Be flattered.” Lena helped Eliza clear the table and Kara looked at Clark.

 

“You look stunned,” Kara said.

 

“She never really compliments people.”

 

“Really? Lena is filled with those. Talking about our intellect, our kindness, out talents,” Winn said. “She told me James and I were an example of a healthy relationship she strived for. And that she hadn’t seen anyone so good at hardware and software before me. Well, of the MacGyver sorts is what she called me in my techniques.”

 

“She’s complimented me on my leadership in the GSA,” Maggie added.

 

“And she loved having someone her age to shoot the breeze with chemicals without having to deal with a superiority complex. That she would snatch me up for a job when she had the company if she could,” Alex said, shrugging.

 

Kara was beaming with pride. “She always has something kind to say to me. Or sarcastic. And she finds me rambling cute. I’m usually admonished for it. But she likes stars and armor and journalism and literature and…see I’m doing it and she wouldn’t have that expression you all are getting.” Kara chuckled a bit at her cousin.

 

“I guess I don’t know her as much as I thought.”

 

“I think that’s intentional, Clark,” James said. “You aren’t who you are around her. You’re goofy and excitable, she’s, in reality, shy and sweet…I just think you’re putting up a barrier of professionalism when you are literally less than ten years apart. I mean we’re six years apart and you never treated me like that. Treat her like you’d treat Maggie or me. You might see her change too.”

 

Clark shook his head and sighed, running his fingers through his curls. His voice is low. “This can’t leave this table.” He looked at the teenagers. “I’m investigating Lex with the alien police. We’re hoping to get someone to enter Luthorcorp…I mean Lexcorp.” He shuddered at that. “Sorry, I had to fight throwing up.”

 

“Clark can’t do it anymore after their falling out,” Lois said for her husband.

 

“Supergirl might be able to convince Lena,” Kara suggested.

 

“Lena’s loyal to him despite it all. He’s all she has. Or what I was under the impression. It’s not hidden behind Lillian’s manipulations.”

 

“So, you knew a young girl was in an abusive household and you defamed her character anyway?” Alex questioned, brow quirked.

 

“I couldn’t help her if I wanted to. They’re untouchable and emotional abuse is fucking impossible to get someone charged with on. Lillian is clean as a whistle as far as we know.” He stopped speaking when Lena came back. She hugged Kara from behind, leaning over the chair to put her chin on Kara’s shoulder.

 

“You’re not mad about the dress, right?”

 

“If I was you’d know before you got here. Just don’t make it a habit. I’m not dating you for your money.”

 

Lena hummed in response and kissed her cheek.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's some explanation for Clark's reaction. Lex's betrayal is more him expressing a holier-than-thou attitude and of course expressing views against Superman. Though Clark has concerns about Lex's motivations due to recent business choices and covert behavior.


	25. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of Christmas Eve. Everyone knows each other well enough to nail the gifts, but Lena comes out on top for Maggie

Everyone gathered for gifts, taking mugs of tea, coffee, hot chocolate around the twinkling evergreen. Kara smiled like a fool as she cuddled up with Lena on the couch.

 

Alex got to open a gift first due to a numbers system. She grabbed her gift from Maggie.

 

“What could it be?” She did the whole act of shaking it near her ear and feeling the weight in her hand. The box was only a few inches deep but longer. Bit bigger than the size of printer paper. She ripped it open with childish vigor and put the box in her lap.

 

“It was last minute,” Maggie told her. It was a new holster and bifold for her credentials. Not particularly detailed but sturdily made, unlike the standard issue she received a year ago. “I wanted to show my support. So…”

 

Alex pulled her close and kissed her. She pulled away grinning like a fool. “It’s perfect. No need to say anything else.”

 

“This is so…gay,” Winn said. The teens chuckled.

 

“Does that have a different connotation now?” Clark asked.

 

“If we use it,” Maggie said quickly. She looked under the tree. “Kara.” She tossed the girl a box that she of course caught.

  
“Wow. One handed. That thing looks heavy,” Lena commented. Kara paused.

 

“Oh, you know…Basketball still in my bones.” Kara sat up, as her head was on Lena’s shoulder. It was her secret Santa gift. She gasped dramatically as she tore it open. She held up the new jacket. “Oh my god!”

 

“Who got her the denim blazer?” Alex whispered.

 

“I can look like JT!” Kara whispered dramatically as she fiddled with the lapels. 

 

“Okay, I’m single again,” Lena deadpanned.

 

“Which one of you?” Alex asked, pointing at James and Winn.

 

“She really wanted one,” Winn said after a moment of silent.

 

“Winslow!” Lena said. She slapped her hands onto her knees. “Why must you betray our eyes?”

 

Kara got up. “I’m going to go change!”

 

“No, Kara we don’t have the time.  Another time,” Eliza chuckled.

 

“Miss Eliza, you do not know the power and danger of that jean blazer,” Lena countered.

 

“A jazer if you will,” James added.

 

“Get out of my holy house,” Alex muttered and pointed at the door. Clark wheezed before laughing.

 

Lena noticed how Kara’s eyes lit up when she saw that happen. He held his stomach and leaned into his wife.

 

“That’s what got you?” Lois teased.

 

“Just the way she was so serious.” He let out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

 

James grabbed one of his gifts next as he rolled his eyes. “Clark, what gets you never fails to confuse me.” He casually took the top off the box and lost his smile. He put his hand to his mouth and stood up. “I-I’m sorry…just…who?”

 

Clark peered down. He recognized that the equipment was worth hundreds if not thousands. The SD cards, the lenses, and an editing program…none of it was cheap.  Hell, he knew what James had was years of collecting and a few computer viruses later.

 

Kara smiled a bit. “I came into a bit of money and I mean, James we’re co-editors. I have nothing to do but benefit from supporting your talent. We’re going into USC together, even if in different years. Still be collaborating as journalism students.”

 

He smirked and hugged her. “I know that this failed a year ago, but I love you,” he said. She patted him on the back before they parted. He kept smiling at the box.

 

Clark shifted and whispered to Kara. “They pay pretty well at the DEO huh?”

 

“More than any waitressing job I applied for,” she joked. Lois and Clark opened their gifts, thanking Alex and Kara. The group presented the gift they got Eliza every year to thank her.

 

This year it was scrap book of all the photos the group had taken from all the experiences Eliza had to miss. Alex’s tournaments, Kara’s meets, birthday dinners, experiences, and one vacation from last summer.

 

“I know you would probably ask why the hell would you want a collection of photos you’re not in—” Alex started.

 

“No! I don’t care about that. All that really bothered me was losing these experiences. Oh, kids it’s perfect. It’s better than anything I could make and these are photos I would take myself if I could. I mean before I know it you’ll be across the country or the world to study and to have these memories and know my girls had this little group, their first family outside of this home…it’s perfect.”

“Fuck, Eliza,” Maggie whispered, wiping at her eyes. She was the first to hug Eliza. The mother rubbed her back and kissed the girl’s forehead.

 

Kara smiled. She felt Lena hug to her arm tight. “You okay?” she whispered.

 

“Yeah. I promise.” Kara kissed her forehead.

 

Winn opened his gift, smiling proudly at the bag his boyfriend got him. He ran his fingers over the monogramming.

 

“Okay, but open it up,” James said. Winn chuckled and unbuckled the clasps. James put an arm around him.

 

Winn pulled out the gag gifts: a Dick-orette patch and a ballcap that said “Daddy.”

 

Winn smiled softly and reached in. “A box.” He pulled it out. He opened it slow. “No!” He hugged James tight. “You’re so tacky.”

 

“I couldn’t wait until your birthday.”

 

“That would have been so much worse. Who gives a promise ring on a holiday?” Winn punched him lightly on the shoulder after getting the silver band on his right ring finger. James took his hand and kissed his ring.

 

“Deal with my tackiness and I’ll deal with your nerdiness.”

 

“You kids do romance a lot better than us old people,” Clark said.

 

“How did you propose Clark?” Lena asked. He almost glared but saw sincere interest. He struggled not to stutter in shock, realizing Lena was trying to be warm because he was the only family Kara had that she hadn’t warmed up to.

 

“I didn’t. She did. We were sleeping in my shitty studio and she was sleeping on top of me. Sinatra was playing on my iPod and Strangers in the Night came on. Now that isn’t our story but it’s one of the first songs we danced to. So, she looks at me and said how my hair looked terrible in messy curls due to bedhead. I joked how at least she wasn’t married to the mess that was me.”

 

“I said I wanted to be,” Lois interjected, smiling. She took his hand. “Seeing the moon off his blue eyes…I had to ask.” She kissed his cheek, leaving a pink kiss mark. “He said yes. We eloped though in Kansas so his parents could be there. We didn’t have the notoriety and salary we have now.”

 

“I have another question. I know you’re adopted by the Kents,” Lena said.

 

“Correct. Since I was a baby.”

 

“How did you know Kara was your blood relative if she was in Russia?”

 

Clark felt the sweat form on his back. No one would consider that. It was just at the end of that because it was an awkward topic. Then he knew Lena likely wished she knew more about her own adoption. He probably knew as much as she did. Lena wasn’t an American-born citizen. She was adopted from Ireland. But he couldn’t access her certificate. He could tell Lena didn’t get it either and what the information it held like where she came from.

 

“My birth mother married my birth father in America. She immigrated in the eighties, leaving her sister who is Kara’s mother, Alura.” He felt Kara take his hand as he struggled to remember the story they spent hours weaving. “My mom met my birth mother before I was born, through my dad. Anyways, she, my adoptive mother kept of contact to tell Alura how I was developing because they couldn’t take me in. Then Alura and Zor-el were killed. I was just starting out, could barely take care of myself.”

 

“Jeremiah met Clark when he was in college. Alex’s father taught a class as a favor. He trusted him and he signed off his guardianship to us,” Eliza finished.

 

It was good enough.

 

Lena just nodded and he saw pity in her eyes. She _pitied_ him. _She_ pitied _him_. He ignored it and the night went on.

 

Maggie reached for her gift. Or rather, gifts.

 

She pulled out first a nice dress and then chinos, jeans, followed with a bomber jacket, blazer, button downs and long-sleeved shirts. A pair of boots, pair of dress shoes, pair of sneakers…

 

Maggie stopped only halfway through. “Lena had me?”

 

The billionaire shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “That obvious?”

 

Maggie rubbed her fingers over her eyes, yanking at the corners to move them to her temples. She smiled sadly. “You’ve given me more in five minutes than my family ever gave me in fourteen Christmases. I guess I just forget the degree of how different we are.”

 

Maggie finished up. More clothes and a new backpack as well. “This is perfect. The other one split open,” Maggie chuckled. She was hiding the tears in her eyes, looking over the stitching of the canvas bag.

 

“Oh, I forgot something.” Lena got up. She pulled out an envelope and a small box from next to her. She sat next to Maggie on the floor.

 

Maggie opened the little box. She held up the brass key. “What’s this to? Your heart?” She looked down at Lena.

 

“It’s actually the key to a studio apartment in downtown National City. Until you graduate college, Bruce Wayne and I will be paying rent. Upon hearing your story, he put his name on the lease and—I never asked—offered to pay half.” Lena smiled nervously, afraid that key was about to end up in her face.

 

Maggie jumped up and ran around the living room for a bit, but not out. “No! What? Lena, you…” She let out a laughing sob and put a hand to her forehead. “This is crazy!”

 

“Wait! There’s one last thing.” Lena got up. She held up the envelope.

 

“But you’ve already done so much. What else can you do?” Maggie was freely crying, voice shaky and she was just about ready to kiss Lena. Lena held it out to her.

 

Maggie shakily tore it open. She sobbed and needed Alex to hold her.

 

Alex took the paper. It was a building design. “The Margarita Sawyer Home for LGBT and Abused Youths,” she read. Maggie was whimpering, overwhelmed.

 

“It was part of my father’s will, that before college I open a new charity. He gave me full control. I chose a youth home, and it can’t be stopped. We don’t have one and in such a major city…and knowing how much this means to you…”

 

“Who knows about this?” Lois asked.

 

“Just us and those who drafted this design." She looked at Maggie. "You can be as involved as you want—"

 

Maggie threw her arms around Lena and sobbed into her shoulder. Lena staggered and held her tight. She stroked her fingers through Maggie’s hair.

 

“Thank you, thank you,” Maggie repeated through tears.

 

“You coaxed this out of me. Who I was when I came here isn’t who I am today.” She smiled at Maggie. “We’re not the closest, but I do care deeply of you. And good people like you don’t deserve what’s happened. You deserve something good. Something so good and I know that life is coming for you once this is all done. You’ve done more than kids like me ever could. You raised yourself, you loved yourself, and you taught others how to do that. Only you, Maggie _Sawyer_.”

 

She kissed Maggie’s forehead and the older girl laughed.

 

“Fuck.” She wiped aggressively at her eyes and grinned, both dimples out. “Fuck. Sorry…”

 

“Go clean up, Mags.” Alex led her to the stairs and Maggie ran up. She addressed Kara after that. “You knew that was going to happen?”

 

“I knew about the clothes,” Kara said, hands up. “When did you organize the living situation?”

 

“It’s not that hard. I just needed someone who was of age to sign for the lease. I wasn’t about to ask Lex so I went to the next adult I trusted. Bruce Wayne.” She stepped out for a call a bit later. There was a brief silence until Winn broke it.

 

“She’s probably going to ask you to move in,” Winn said to Alex, looking at her. He was leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped.

 

“I plan on saying yes if that’s so.” Alex crossed her arms. “How come when it’s her she’ll accept help? Wouldn’t it just be worse?”

 

“No—I was thinking about this,” Kara piped. She looked at Alex and Eliza. “You guys are maternal. You looked at her like a wounded animal. Of course, she didn’t want to accept too much from you. She felt infantized. I think it’s different with Lena. It’s not…too personal. I mean, Lena doesn’t treat her like she’s a broken husk. They’re just friends looking out for each other and a mutual passion.”

 

Alex sighed to herself and rubbed at her temples. Maggie came down all cleaned up and better composed. “Where’s Lee?”

 

“Lena,” Kara corrected.

 

“Anyways, where is she?” Maggie held a flat giftbox. “I left this upstairs.”

 

“She got a call from her brother,” Clark said. He got a glare from Kara for using his hearing. He shrugged. “He’s wishing her a happy Christmas…and saying how excited he is for her to come to Metropolis.” He looked at Kara. “She’s leaving?”

 

“He has her for New Years. She just found out a few days ago. Kinda sucks but I joked maybe she’ll see Supergirl.”

 

“You’re not coming to the city,” Clark deadpanned. He winced a bit at the harshness. “Sorry, Kara it’s just—”

 

“No. I get it. Your turf. By all means. All means, Kal.” She adjusted her sleeves and frowned.

 

“No! You should come. We’ll host you. You’re off another week and can get back home in minutes. Let’s do it.” He rambled on.

 

“Clark,” Lois warned.

 

“Darling, how about it?”

 

“If she wants to do it after your shining reaction.”

 

Kara flashed her puppy-dog eyes at Eliza.

 

“If she gets hurt—” Eliza started at Clark.

 

“She’ll be great!”

 

“Don’t cut me off.” Her voice was low. “If she gets hurt, I will never forgive you. You may be her next of kin but that is my baby.” He swallowed and nodded. She softened. “Good.”

 

Lena came back in. “Sorry, he’s just telling me what I have to bring in order to be allowed to be in his office. Real anal about dress code.” Her glowing joy had dulled. She was formal. Aloof.

 

People returned to tearing open their gifts. The living room was a mess by the end and luckily no more tears had been shed.

 

Kara helped clean up while Lena and Maggie were off and talking. She tuned in to hear them talking about the apartment’s location and due to the commute it would be to the high school what would be done. Maggie turned down anymore offers from Lena.

 

“Enough of you giving—take this.” She passed the gift she had brought down to the woman.

 

Lena carefully hooked her pinkie nail under the tape, lifting it and putting the perfect square of foil paper down. She opened the box and chuckled.

 

“How in the hell did you even find one of these?” Lena turned it to show a shadow box of a bat skeleton.

 

“This weird cult shop in the part of the city where semi-rich white thirty-somethings have settled.”

 

“Excellent.” Lena smiled down at the skeleton. “It’s awesome. Thanks.” She hugged the older girl.

 

“It’s not a whole wardrobe or an apartment…but the best I could do.”

 

“It’s something. No one would ever think to get me one.”

 

Kara shifted uncomfortably. She never heard Lena talking of any interests that would inspire such a thing. No interest in zoology or gothic sorts.

 

“Kara I can hear your body seizing,” Maggie called from the couch.

 

“I just never expected that.” She motioned to the box.

 

“I like collecting this stuff. I have boxes with butterflies and mice skeletons. And you’ve seen my fish skeletons.”

 

“I guess I have more to learn about you.” Kara picked up the scale replica of armor Lena got her. 

 

“Well, I have more to learn about you too,” Lena teased.

 

Kara laughed it off but felt her back go cold in sweat.

 

* * *

 

The three adults sat around the kitchen, the kids all having passed out while playing Mafia in the living room. Winn was tucked against James, Alex was leaning against the couch with Maggie sat between her legs and leaning against her. Kara and Lena were laid out on the couch, Kara playing the big spoon.

 

Clark was sipping slowly at the special whiskey Eliza got him. “I want your honest input on their relationship,” Eliza said.

 

“I don’t want to give an input. Kara seemed happy. I wish I didn’t run out,” he sighed. “She came out to me and I ran out? That’s not even my point of view. I’m okay with her liking girls, and I know at my core Lena isn’t like Lex—it’s just I was taken off guard and I worry. I have no right to say anything on the matter.”

 

“You do and you don’t,” Lois said. “She is your only family, but we didn’t choose to raise her.”

 

“Do you ever regret that, Kal?” Eliza questioned. He sighed and shrugged. 

 

“No…She wouldn’t be the star she is if I raised her. I was a kid when she crash-landed. No place to be a dad. It’s disgusting to think they expected Kara to be a mother to me at thirteen.” He ran his fingers through his hair, ruining all the work he had done on it. “We should get to the hotel, honey.”

 

“Yeah.” The two hugged Eliza and gathered up their coats and gifts. Clark creeped over to the couch, leaning over the back and kissing Kara’s cheek. She stirred and looked up at him.

 

“You’re leaving?” She mumbled. He nodded.

 

“I’ll see you in a few days, kid.”

 

She mumbled in Kryptonian, “ _I love you_.”

 

He smiled. He kissed her head again and whispered, “ _Little one, I love you with this whole soul._ ” He stumbled over a few words but it was enough. He had to do so little to be everything to her. She was still a kid. Still as doe-eyed as the girl that looked so scared when he tore the lid off her pod.

 

He walked out with Lois, putting his jacket on her shoulders and taking her hand.

 

“If we had a daughter half as amazing as her…I’d be happy,” Lois said to him.

 

He just chuckled, cheeks pink. “Not as half as amazing as me?”

 

“I mean you’re alright.”

 

“Oof!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry if the story they formulated reads choppy at all. It was awkward d to write but it would also be awkward to say as they hardly have to whip out that story.


	26. Who Is She?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena gets a taste of the life she wants as she helps Lex at work. Lex, being the good brother he is, tries to set her up with his loyal assistant: Samantha Arias

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long time I was working on this for the whole month of March, ended up scrapping my original idea because of the Lex factor and also the playing with Sam and also Supergirl being a secret to Lena still.

Lena hummed quietly as she washed the dishes. Lex was odd and refused to have any help in his apartment. “They steal and I’m not here much anyways,” he told Lena as to why.

 

She spent most her free-time when he was off without her cleaning for him. She had learned skills he didn’t due to her liking to help the help.

 

He would never say but she knew he liked that his home office was now clean and he had a board now to tack things up rather than taping them to the white wall behind them. Though the two siblings joked it fit his mad scientist aesthetic.  

 

She realized just how much she missed having him around during these days. He would take her to work with him. She would get to sit in on meetings and join him in the labs. He let her actually have input on most things (he had one project she didn’t get to see. He just called it a surprise).

 

She smiled to herself as she dried her hands. She heard him enter the kitchen. She had heard him take a call a few minutes ago. She had blocked out most of the words but he did not sound particularly in good spirits.

 

He came out and sighed. “Hey.”

 

“Everything okay?”

 

“Oh—don’t worry yourself about it.” He struggled with his tie. “Fucking stupid thing!” He threw it down and let out a heavy set of breaths.

 

“Hey—it’s okay.” She smiled softly and picked it up. She walked over and pushed a chair out. He sank down and she slowly popped up his collar. She was slow in forming the knot. She was used to him losing his temper over little things if something set him on edge. It would be corrected with time. She saw his brow relax and he shifted his shoulders.

 

 “How have you lived here without me Lex?” she teased.

 

“Easily. You’re a piece of work,” he shot back, his green eyes glimmering with deviance. She found it odd how their eyes matched even if their genetics didn’t. Sure, there were only a few colors eyes could be, but the way they both reflected light in ways and how they had the same bluish inner-iris and jade outer-iris puzzled her.  

 

She chuckled and let him go once she adjusted the dimple. He hummed with gratitude when he studied it on the screen of his phone.

 

He pressed his lips into a thin line for a moment. “So…” He, for once, had nothing to say.

 

“Yeah?”

 

He looked down. He pulled her in for a hug. “I noticed you made your decision for the new charity. A youth center?”

 

“Well, no. It’s a center for those who are leaving abusive households or have been kicked out for being queer. Be it support, basic medical care, or shelter. NC is a major city and it can benefit from this.”

 

“It couldn’t have been an orphanage or something simple huh?” He frowned. “Mom’s not happy.”

 

“Well, dad made it so mom couldn’t do shit.” Lena grabbed a jacket, slipping it on and adjusting the shoulders in the mirror near the door. “Dad took care of us.”

 

“He took care of you,” Lex mumbled.

 

“Lex you have the second biggest stake in the company.”

 

“Under you. A sixteen-year-old.”

  
“I’ll be twenty-four when I get any say.”

 

“Yeah. Once you finish high school you’ll have to start an internship under me. So, remember that when you look into colleges.”

 

“No Stanford?” Lena pouted. He looked horrified. “Kidding! I’ll start looking.”

 

“Good. I recommend you change. As much as skinny jeans and a bomber jacket look good on you, it’s not business appropriate.” He pushed her forehead, careful to not smudge up the bronzer on her hairline. She stuck her tongue out at him before jogging to change.

 

She slipped into a simple red dress and put her coat on.

 

“So, what’s on the agenda?” She adjusted her earrings as she watched him look at this drawer of keys.

 

“Meetings, some you can sit in on and one you cannot.”

 

“Can’t wait to spend time alone.” She sighed. He smirked to himself at the response. “What?”

 

“You can hang around my assistant. Sam is amazing. If you’re willing, you should take Sam out to lunch.”

 

“Take him out? Got it.” Lena wondered how she could make sure she didn’t get hit on. Because in her brother’s circles, she found the interns and assistants and sons were all somehow dead set to try to bed her.

 

They took his Audi. Lena checked her emails and messages as he drove. He put on a podcast about the battle of Alecia and Lena about noticed all the dumb facts Kara talked about because the woman listened to the same damn podcast about Greek and Roman history.

 

“Did you know that Gauls sometimes fought in the nude as means to distract their opponents?” She asked him.

 

“Yeah. Why do you know?”

  
“Kara listens to this same podcast.” He nodded at her and they got to his office building. He took a private elevator. As they entered Lex spoke up.

 

“Sam, what’s on the agenda today?”

 

Lena stopped in her tracks when she saw who was at the small desk in front of Lex’s door. A young woman with olive toned skin and brown eyes oddly bright for the morning. Her fingers grasped surely at a pen as her other hand held up a black folder and extended it to Lex.

 

“I compiled your schedule. The areas in blue are your free time to the minute. Red is when I am going to be on task or working on returning calls. See there’s no overlap like last week.”

 

“Yes. That was the most disastrous five minutes of this company.” He smiled softly. “Where are my manners? Sam, this is Lena. My little sister.”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Lena said, extending her hand. Sam smiled bright and shook it. “I’ll be taking you to lunch today.”

 

“I know. I made the reservation.” Sam let go of her hand and sat back down. “Can I get you anything, Lena?”

 

Lena was glad they didn’t have to do the exchange of “Miss Luthor,” “please, call me Lena.”

 

“Oh, no. I’m okay. Thank you.” Lena looked at the schedule briefly. “I’m guessing the twelve-thirty block is when. I’ll step out at twelve-twenty then and you can call us a town car then as well?”

 

“Should work,” Sam said, smiling at her.

 

Lena smiled back and she and Lex went into his office.

 

Lex sat behind his grand rosewood desk. He smiled at her. “What do you think of her?”

 

“She seems sweet. A bit young for your types.”

 

“What about for your type?” He leaned back. “I want you to take her with you to help you on this project. She could handle it easily. And I could transfer her to Claremont with a few phone calls.”

 

“You’re paying her tuition?” Lena arched a brow. He unbuttoned his suit jacket to make sitting more tolerable.

 

“I’m making an investment for our future. What can she be with a bit of education? Part of the chief staff or committee.” He looked at his sister. “Maybe a girl smart enough to be your suitor.”

 

“I’m really not interested.” She hadn’t told him about Kara. He knew she was a friend. But of course, he had to question that, right?

 

“Test the waters. I had had two girlfriends by the time I was your age and dating is bullshit. Sew your oats kid!”

 

“I don’t want to have this conversation with you! You’re technically my father figure now.” He made a face and that shut him up. If she had the mommy issues, he had the daddy issues.

 

A few hours passed. She worked with him. The first task he had her look through the stack of proposals for the new factory. Many cities sent them in, some even outside the country. But part of Lionel’s wishes was to keep the tech part of the company national, whilst other daughter companies did venture internationally. Next, he ran through old meeting minutes with her to give a sense of good and poor meeting behaviors. They took one meeting over the development of a recent medical development in the labs.

 

She was shooed off between meetings and she approached Sam’s desk. The woman looked up from her computer. “The car should be waiting downstairs,” Sam told her.

 

“Wonderful.” Lena smiled as she tucked the black card Lex gave her to pay for lunch into her purse. Sam smiled back out of politeness rather than actual enthusiasm.

 

She and Sam were mostly quiet on the elevator ride. Sam spoke up as they strolled out. “How old are you?”

 

“Sixteen. You?”

 

“Twenty will be twenty-one in April. Finished my first semester.”

 

“Wow. When Lex said you were in college I expected you to be nearing the end of your undergrad. Why the late start?”

 

“A kid can be a little hurdle. Just a small one,” Sam said dryly.

 

Lena felt her cheeks go red. “Oh.” She cursed silently.

 

“It’s okay.” Sam chuckled. “At least you’re embarrassed rather uncomfortable.”

 

“The dad in the picture?”

 

“Not even a little bit. I got kicked out and kept walking. I was working another desk job before Lex. He was meeting my old boss, talked to me for ten minutes before he left. A week later he calls me and says he wants to hire me. It was weird but once I heard the number I was set to say yes. Him promising that can climb a ladder rather be stuck.” Sam shifted her weight. “Also, how do you feel about me being your assistant with this charity project?”

 

Lena blinked. “Um, I want to get to know you first before I can make this decision…” _But the reality that you’re raising a kid makes me want to say no because my god you have so much already. School, job, kid? How would the personal part of this development weigh?_

“Fair.” Sam smiled at her and opened the door for Lena when they got to the car. She walked around and after they got situated Lena drove off. It was quiet again, Lena looking ahead and refused to be rude and get sucked into her phone. They didn’t get into the conversation until they were sat in the eatery.

 

“I know you probably wonder how I can work well if I’m a mom and a student.”

 

Lena looked up from her menu. “Naturally.”

 

“Part of my benefits is daycare compensation, so Ruby, my daughter, is squared away from the hours of eight to five. Lex doesn’t really need me past noon so I pick up two classes. Half my education is online as well. I maintain a high GPA and I’ve yet to make a mistake whilst working for Lex. And I argue your project will be easier for me to handle as I know you’ll be in school as well. It’ll be a lot of weaving and communication. I’m good at being flexible, believe it or not.”

 

Sam stopped speaking when their server came up. They ordered and when he left Sam was tense until Lena spoke up.

 

 “You could bring Ruby to our one on ones if need be. I’ll be flexible too, I suppose.” She sipped her water. “What are you studying at Albany? Would you take on that major at Claremont?”

 

Sam adjusted. “Business and accounting. I’m more on the paperwork side of things than the scientific and inventive part. Spreadsheets and power point rather test tubes and weaponry.”

 

Lena leaned back. “I don’t see why I’d need you after the whole thing is said and done.”

 

“Well, I think then I’ll either go back to Lex or I could do something for the office in National City I know Lex has to bounce back to a lot.” She smiled hopefully.

 

“I guess time is going to tell.” Lena got up to check her makeup in the bathroom after excusing herself.

 

She looked in the mirror, hands resting on the marble vanity. She checked her phone and saw Lex sent her a PDF.

 

She opened it to see it was a file on Sam herself. _That’s…not what you want._ She grumbled to herself and noticed it had the woman’s test scores. A thirty-five was what caught her eye before she had to close it, being too uncomfortable to learn about the girl this way. So, she was smart. Of course, she had to be. Lex wouldn’t settle for less.

 

She returned to the table to see Sam had a small tablet out. Lena snuck up on her and saw it was a textbook on the screen. Sam jumped and looked at her. “Sorry—”

 

“Sam, if you need to take this time to study or anything I can let you off,” Lena told her.

 

“No—I’m off anyways. I just, my textbook for my coming up class. I read the professor jumps right in with teaching to the book and I just want to know. It’s been a smack in the face to start two years after graduating.”

 

“I can’t imagine being able to do that.” Lena smiled at her. She was something, Sam.

 

“I mean—I know you could probably pull that off. You chose to lead your academic life this way, right? You probably could be out of college by now if you wanted to.”

 

“Yeah. But that doesn’t matter. Being smart and having a good work ethic are different things. And you researched me?”

 

“No! Lex talks a lot about you. He was glad you were coming to town. I’m usually intimidated by him by seeing him kind of light up talking about his kid sister made me want to meet you a lot.” Sam looked at her. “And not to be too bold but you look a lot better in real life than in photos which is so annoying because you were already stunning.”

 

Lena felt her cheeks go hot. “Oh…thanks.”

 

“Sorry to be so direct. I just wanted to say. I’m sorry.” Sam took her hand. Lena looked at her.

 

“You’re beautiful. Really, I was expecting an annoying guy when my brother said I had to take you to lunch. When I saw this brilliant woman who just had a color-coded schedule for him and a smile—relief like a tsunami. I think us working together will be great.”

 

Sam blushed and smiled. “Wow. Are you single? Because you can smooth talk Luthor.”

 

“I am dating. It’s on the down low because of my mother.”

 

“Say no more.” Sam patted her on the hand before letting her hand go. “What’s she like?”

 

Lena lit up and showed her pictures that were password protected on her snapchat so Lillian couldn’t see them. “She’s a swimmer and powerlifter. We met in school. She and I write on the school paper together.”

 

Sam gasped dramatically. “This isn’t a human person. You aren’t a real couple. No. We need normal people who are unhappy in high school. Not in this dream couple.” Sam handed her the phone back.

 

Lena laughed, snorting a bit. Sam just smirked at her.

 

“Can I see your daughter?” Lena leaned forward. Sam was glowing with pride as she pulled out her phone.

 

“She’s two. Her new habit is saying “I ascend!” every time I pick her up. Really I need to stop reading my American Lit books to her.” Sam passed her phone over with a picture. Lena felt a warmth spread from the center of her chest as she looked at the bright smile and sparkling brown eyes, the chubby cheeks and then the soft curls of brown hair.

 

“She’s beautiful,” Lena told her. “Truly, a gem.”

 

“Funny, that’s why I picked that name.”

 

“I thought it was for Steven Universe,” Lena joked.

 

“What?”

 

Lena’s eyes went wide. “You haven’t seen Steven Universe? What does your kid watch?”

 

“How about I question the fact you’re watching a kid’s show and you’re sixteen.”

 

“I’m a kid? And Kara got me on it. Our friend Winn got her hooked.”

 

“Huh, okay.”

 

Sam looked off. She looked up a bit as well. She could hear the oldies music and smiled to herself. She looked back at Lena. “You dance?”

 

“Only for most my life. Why?”

 

“They have a little dance floor and Sinatra’s playing. Come on.” Sam stood. Lena took a moment, putting her napkin down after moving it from her lap.

 

She stood and took Sam’s hand. They were on with one other pair as who would really dance during lunch?

 

Sam knew a simple waltz, taking lead. “You worried at all being seen with a woman?” Sam mumbled.

 

“Not really. Done it before.” They danced for a few songs and returned to their seats and calling it for the day. Lena felt better after she and Sam got back up to the office. They were talking freely now, discussing their mutual enjoyment in a few titles in twentieth-century American literature and the eighties movies they watched over and over (Sam was more of a _Can’t Buy Me Love_ sort of girl but Lena personally had a dedication to _Pretty Woman_ no movie could shake).

 

“ _Pretty Woman_ was ninety. You’re a fake there Luthor,” Sam mocked as they strolled up to Sam’s deck.

 

“Barely Arias. It counts it was so strongly stuck in the eighties roots. There was carry over.”

 

“Big mistake! Huge!” Sam chuckled and sank into her seat. Lena rolled her eyes as she went into Lex’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone just ever... have their FF.net account come back to haunt them?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I just don’t want things to be ruined by secrets. Secrets have taken so much from all of us, hasn’t it?”

Kara spun around in a desk chair, sighing dramatically. It made Kal pause in typing. He gave her a side glance. “What is it?” he asked.

 

“When you talk about work you make it seem like you’re on the front lines. In the streets. At least meeting new people. This is just sitting here looking through your emails.”

 

“For your information, I’m doing important work.” He adjusted his glasses. “In an hour, I have to talk to a witness. If you want, you can come along. But you have to be quiet. I don’t want you scaring them.”

 

“Of course!” She smiled and got up. “I’m going to get some tea. You want some?”

 

“Green with lemon,” he said without looking up. “Thank you.”

 

She skipped to the break room. The interns stopped mid-conversation. They were all in college, four boys and one girl. The girl just poked at her salad as the boys dropped their words and looked at Kara. She smiled at them and went to the Keurig.

 

They went back into the conversation. “Okay, so anyway. I drop into La Bien’s to pick up Bowling Ball’s lunch, and this is what I see,” Tobias, the only one whose name she remembered, said as he pulled out his phone. “Now look at that. We all know who that is—Miss Luthor—but who is that piece with her, hm?” His chapped lips curled with amusement.

 

Kara leaned in and snatched the phone. Lena was dancing with a woman, the girl taller and clad in a suit. They were both smiling, Lena’s eyes were sparkling.

 

“Hey, can you send this? I have to show this to my friends. Lee and I are buds back in NC.”

 

“Um—sure.” Tobias took his phone back and sent it to her in DMs.

 

“Thanks!” She patted his shoulder and grabbed the teas. She went back to Kal’s desk and handed him his tea and sank into her seat.

 

She sent the photo to her group chat with everyone but Lena. It was the “Super” chat.

 

**_I’m not worried but she told me she was spending the day with Lex_ **

**_Jimmy: Wow_ **

**_Winslow: I’m sorry to say it Kara  
_ ** **_But that is a snack and a half_ **

Kara ran her fingers through her hair. He wasn’t wrong. The girl was attractive. And Lena looked so happy. But they could just be friends. Yet, who dances with just friends and goes to an expensive restaurant. And Lena came to town under the impression that what went on Kara really couldn’t know. She, after all, didn’t know Kara was in town.

 

**_Mags: WAIT_ **

**_Mags: I know her!_ **

 

A link popped into the chat

 

**_Mags: She is Lex’s assistant_ **

**_Mags: Lena was probably being forced to take her out to lunch_ **

**_Alex: Examining the evidence presented by detective Sawyer I have to say that woman isn’t a threat even if she is as Winn so delicately placed “a snack and a half”_ **

**_Alex: Lena is professional and loyal like a lobster_ **

****

Kara couldn’t help but laugh at that.

 

She hopped over and texted Lena.

 

**_How’s your day going?_ **

**_LLL: Lex just introduced me to my new assistant for my youth center project. You’ll love Sam_ **

**_Assistant?_ **

**_LLL: Yeah, I mean I don’t know too much and Sam has an idea of what to do because she has been doing this since she was seventeen_ **

**_What? Lex hired a teenager?_ **

**_LLL: he randomly found her working as a secretary at a company my father bought. He looked at her and said if she moved with him he would pay her six figures and her tuition so long as she signed a contract that promised she stay at least a decade._ **

**_LLL: she was desperate so_ **

**_I would take it_ **

**_LLL: I would pay for your tuition myself before I let you work for my brother_ **

**_Sugar mama alert_ **

**_LLL: anyways! You see Supergirl is in Met?_ **

**_Yeah I hear it’s because Superman is getting old_ **

****

“I saw that. I personally have to say you are a brat,” Kal muttered and flicked her ear. She whined and glared at him. He just smiled wryly and went back to typing.

 

“I miss her so much.”

 

“It’s been a week. You go home in two days. Can’t you wait for three days?”

 

She looked at him. “Well, I have no choice. Why I can complain.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “I remember when I was in my early twenties. Lois got a chance to go abroad. Six months in Europe. I would fly to see her whenever I could even if it was just to have breakfast together. Young love.”

 

“Being an El makes you inherently more romantic,” Kara grinned.

 

“It makes it easier for you to say “instead of being strong, how about I be needy.””

 

“At least Lois knows. You can be every part of yourself with her.”

 

He paused and looked down. “If it was a girl like Maggie or a boy like James—”

 

“Shh. I don’t want to hear the lecture again.” She watched people pass the desk. They were having an open conversation but the world was so caught up in its own song that they couldn’t hear. It was the noise she would so often get lost in if she didn't first ground herself.

 

She got up. “I’m going to get actual food. I’ll be back with stuff for you and Lois.” She looked over at the woman with headphones on at her desk adjacent to Kal’s.

 

“Thanks,” Lois said without looking up. She had a small smirk on her lips to suggest no music filtered through hand she heard every word Kal said. It made him bright red, spilling tea on his lap with his tight grip.

 

Kara just laughed as she made her way to the staircase. She scaled it up and to the roof, changing and hopping off.

 

***

 

Lena changed into her lounging clothes after Lex dropped her off. He had a dinner with colleagues. She knew that he would likely be back in the morning, sleeping at the hotel they got drinks at. He was crazy but at least he had some sense of self-preservation. Small victories with him really.

 

She draped her duvet over her shoulders as she started up a new episode of Queer Eye, hoping that this one would be a bit lighter compared to AJ’s transformation. The day was still fairly young but the motivation to go out and about fell short of her. She shut the curtains to not have to look at the setting sun and the cars congested on the street below, or the people bundled up as they tried not to slip on the sludge of gray snow.

 

She missed California. More importantly who was there. She knew that Alex and Maggie would be dragging the group to the show tonight as it was the first Saturday of January. She wondered who they all dressed up. She hoped Kara would show her costume off, but she also hoped she wouldn’t be Rocky again. She didn’t want anyone else eyeing Kara down but her, as selfish as it was. But who could blame her being a bit jealous? Kara was a full-on goddess in flesh from the tanned skin to her well-cut frame. Some would say her body type is too masculine but Lena personal was enthralled and captivated, curious to see every inch if she could and worship her own personal Greek hero.

 

She checked her texts to see Kara hadn’t replied. She tossed the phone aside and stayed in darkness. She liked being alone usually, but it felt odd to have so much time and not at least carve some of it out for those she loved.

 

She jumped when she heard a gentle tapping on her window. She shut the laptop and slid over to the window. She pulled it aside and saw a rare sight.

 

Supergirl hovered there, bag in hand and a soft apologetic smile on her face. The setting sun made her hair look like spun gold. Her suit looked almost black and the emblem shimmered similar to a jewel with its polished surface.

 

She pushed opened the window. The wind rushed in and goosebumps formed on her skin. “Fancy seeing you here,” she mused.

 

“May I come in?”

 

“If that’s food, yes.” Lena moved aside and Supergirl drifted in and then shut the door. “I didn’t think I’d see you at all on my trip.”

 

“I couldn’t resist. Not that many familiar faces around here. I know you. Not many others.” Supergirl smiled.

 

Lena put a hand to her cheek and smiled back. She really adored her.

 

The heroine sat on the floor and opened the bag. “I got you some wonton soup.” She passed the container over with a spoon and some napkin. Lena took it but opted to sit with Supergirl. She leaned into her strong arm. “Oh—hi.”

 

“Hello,” Lena smirked at her. Supergirl moved and opened her own meal. Potstickers and fried rice.

 

“Hopefully this is as good as the place I usually go in NC,” she said lightly, picking one up with her chopsticks and taking a bite.

 

Lena opened her soup and ran her tablespoon through to gather the broth. “You’re taking a risk being in Lex Luthor’s apartment.”

 

She swallowed down her food and wiped at her lips with her thumb. “Well, I figured it paid off to see you.” She smiled gently. “I think we both needed some company, yes?”

 

Lena nodded and put the episode back on. The heroine smiled and mentioned lightly how she liked Jonathan the most. Time passed in some silence, besides some passing jokes and laughter. Lena took their trash and tossed it in the kitchen. She came back to see Supergirl looking around the dimly lit room.

 

She looked at Lena for a long moment when she came in. “Nice sweatshirt.”

 

Lena looked down. It was a zip-up hoodie with patches all over the back. It was Kara’s. “It was for a safe trip. I’ve been wearing it sparingly though.”

 

“Why?” She stepped up. Her hand instinctively moved up, pushing a loose lock of hair from Lena’s face and tucking it behind her pink touched ears. A subtle flush was crawling up on Lena’s features.

 

“It smells like her. The bar soap she uses, the smell of the incense she burns…how the Danvers house smells. It’s like her arms are around me. Not as strong.” Her cheeks reddened.

 

Kara looked down and chuckled to herself. “That’s so cute.” Her eyes sparkled. “You really like her, huh?” Her eyes had a playful glint.

 

Lena swallowed. She looked at that scar above blue eyes. She looked at the empty container that held the woman’s favorite food. She was painfully aware of just how she had begun to miss her girlfriend that this woman showed up.  But to be narrowly saved by this woman was the biggest part, sticking out of this whole mess of reality like shrapnel that cut her whenever she examined it.

 

She licked her spoon and put it in the empty container. She looked at the other girl. “I love you, actually.”

 

She was tired of acting like she didn’t feel the pain of it all. She wasn’t ignorant. She knew that Kara’s façade would be perfect for a stranger but there is something just so…terribly harmful about knowing. Just knowing when she ran off from a date just to return moments after someone was saved that there would be at least two lies to follow chipped away at Lena.

 

No, not chipped. It was a jackhammer, taking globs of her away so surely and with such success, she was about to implode.

 

Kara tensed. “W-what?” She felt her heart race under her emblem. She was half tempted to run but that would be worse than just facing this.

 

Lena sighed. “Kara, I’ve known since our first date that you’re Supergirl.”

 

Kara sat on the bed and sighed. “I’m so sorry…” She blinked. “Wait—you said you loved me. You’re not mad…” She smiled a little and her fingers twitched before she reached to pull Lena in at the waist.

 

“Oh, I am.” Kara recoiled from trying to grab her. Lena’s gentle eyes were steely and her sharp jaw was set. “Because I know full well James and Winn know. Maggie? She knows.”

 

Kara sighed and looked up at her. “Lena, James knew Superman so he figured me out. Winn was the only person I willingly got to come out to. Maggie was accidentally told by Alex. I have no control over my identity besides when I became Supergirl. I wanted to tell you so much but I was scared out of it.”

 

Kara couldn’t miss the brief emotion of hurt. It furrowed Lena’s brows and caused her voice to crack. “Because I’m a Luthor?”

 

Kara bit her lip and then chuckled sullenly. She looked to the side and rested her hands on the bed. “Yes, for those controlling the confidentiality that’s exactly why. But here's the thing—you know that’s not me. If it was, why would I befriend you? Why would I fall for you? Why would I have saved you from Vartox when it would be in my supposed best interest to stay away? Why would I approach you like this—” She motioned at her suit “—if I personally had a hundred percent confidence that you did not share in Lex and Lillian’s disfavor and defamation? Lena, I will always, fucking always, trust you and stand for you. As Kara Danvers, as Supergirl—Kara Zor-el, that’s my name.”

 

Lena paused. She didn’t look mad or hurt (not anymore at least), not happy or open for an embrace. No tears or smile…just empty. She wasn’t even coy with contemplation. She gave Kara ability to talk but there was also a strong sense of Kara having not one ounce of power.

 

“You want to know the truth of this all? I mean, what else have I lied about, right?” Lena arched a brow, remaining nonverbal. It was worse, yelling would make it easier for Kara. She could at least know what Lena was thinking. Kara swallowed. “I did lose my parents, Lena. The natural disaster was my planet being swallowed by its own core as we abused its capacity to handle the world. I was supposed to be a mother to Superman, at thirteen, but I was lost in space and he landed. He got to grow up in a normal family and in ways, I thank Rao it is how it is. Because I wouldn’t have met you if I landed with him. I wouldn’t be who I am if I had to be that for him because he sure as hell couldn’t be it for me when he was twenty-four.”

 

Lena looked aside. Kara noticed her eyes sparkling with tears. She stood and pulled Lena in. “I wanted to tell you every day. Winn was right, secrets are the worst. I can’t take it. I’m so sorry Lena. It’s not what you think. Please…”

 

“I think you should go.” Lena turned away from her. 

 

Kara frowned. “I understand.” She got outside the window but leaned in. “Just know…I love you too. I think I’ve known since that night we walked home and talked and I couldn’t help but feel jealous of you texting Dani. I think I knew when I went crazy trying to find you and fought someone that almost killed me weeks before. I know certainly now. I wish I could kiss you after saying this for the first time.” She heard chaos blocks away. She looked behind and frowned.

 

“Go save the people, Supergirl.” Lena turned her head over her shoulder for a brief moment of eye contact. She frowned and Kara saw the glimmering of tears. 

 

Kara hung her head and flew off.


	28. Time Heals All Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven days. Eleven days to resolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ridiculously blocked for the next chapter (why this is late. I finished it weeks ago but I don't publish a chapter unless I've got a solid next chapter). So I'm open to ideas on this story because I know major points but those would be a later spot and not currently. My school year wraps up in less than a month so there will very likely be no substantial plot point added until June

_Time heals all wounds._

 

_**One hour** _

Kal and Lois got home, turning lights back on and placing the groceries they grabbed for dinner. “Where did Kara say she ran off to?” Lois asked her husband.

 

“Oh, I’m aware she’s off saving someone.” He had notifications in the Supergirl hashtag created to have people send videos to various news outlets to prove it. He knew when it wasn’t too much for her. He was kind of grateful to have her around. A lot of suspicions is taken off of you when you aren’t disappearing during every event of chaos. He’d have to do the same for her.

 

Lois pressed her lips into a thin line. “What do you think life will be for her?”

 

“I was just about to ask you,” he said, smiling. She just stared and he lost his grin. “She’s seventeen. Got enough time to figure it out.” He shrugged it off. “I think college will be a time of finding herself. She’s trying now. With Lena and that…situation.”

 

Their window opened and Kara dropped in wearing her regalia. It was a no-no in the household. Lois always asked for a super to come in the front door with their normal clothes.

 

“Now Kara—oh,” Lois stopped. Kal looked and saw the tears in her eyes. Kal stepped up and once he touched her shoulder she collapsed into him and broke down.

 

“Kara?” He whispered, holding her close even if he didn’t know. She gripped to his jacket and cried into his chest. “Hey…” He put his hand to her head and the other looped around her shoulders.

 

“I fucked up. I fucked up so much.” She sobbed and hiccupped. She pulled away and had snot running from her nose. Lois sank down and offered the girl some tissues. A loud, ungraceful blow and some sniffling followed. She was breathing in heaves but had yet to explain.

 

“Honey?” Lois whispered. She rubbed soothing circles into the young heroine’s back. “What happened?”

 

“It’s childish—I’m so sorry.” She looked at Kal.

 

“You’re a kid, don’t apologize for being like that. What is it, Kar?” He put his hand to her cheek.

 

She couldn’t look at him. “I’m not saying sorry about crying,” she hiccupped before rubbing her eyes with her fingertips. “Lena knows. Kal I’m s—o so—rry,” she sobbed. He tensed up and just held her then. He looked at his wife. She didn’t look panicked. She still looked sorry for the girl as he panicked.

 

“Clark, how about you go out and talk to Eliza. I’ll stay with her,” she said calmly. He just nodded and staggered up. Kara resisted, holding his lapels. “Honey, here.” The girl turned and cried into Lois’ shoulder. “Shh…” She stroked her hair. “Tell me what happened.”

 

Kal walked out and took a walk around the block, pulling out his phone and calling Alex.

 

“Go for Danvers,” she answered.

 

“Still workshopping your answer?” He mumbled.

 

“What is it, Clark?” He heard rustling around and typing. She was at work of course.

 

“Kara just got back from stopping some absorbing life-force alien at a park. When she got back she was breaking down. I thought it was maybe the task but it was something else.” He took a deep breath. “She told me Lena knows. I think we both know what that means without further explanation.”

 

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered. “Don’t yell at her. I got that. I’ll be making up an NDA for Lena.”

 

“Should I talk to the young Luthor?”

 

“No! Don’t interact. I think I’ll have Maggie deal with her. If she’s addressed in a friendly manner she wouldn’t be foolish.” She sighed. “I’m guessing it didn’t go the way Kara wanted if she’s broken up about it.”

 

“I think Lena figured it out herself. She’s always deduced well outside of her family.” He checked his watch. “I think I’m going to send Kara home early. I’ll keep an eye on Lena until she goes back too.”

 

“Sounds good. Lois talking her down?”

 

“Yeah. I wish I could do more for her.”

 

“Just don’t yell at her as a family member. This is a DEO issue. Not an El issue.”

 

“I beg to differ on that! She’s my blood before anything. I’m the one who makes the decision first considering her well-being—”

 

“Do you want to go there with me?” He paused and sighed.

 

“I guess not…I’ll be talking to Eliza about what happened.”

 

“Alright.” The girl hung up.

 

* * *

 

 

Lex came home within an hour of Kara leaving. Lena was sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, staring into space.

 

He dropped down his bag and sat with her. “You okay?”  

 

_Kara’s Supergirl. What does this mean now? She didn’t tell me. But did I have the right to know? All I know has she had no right to use it to her advantage. Can I accept her? I’ve known since before we dated really. I still did this._

 

“Yeah…why?”

 

“You just have that little scowl you get when you’re thinking really hard.” He stood up. “I got you your ticket.” He took off his tie. “I sense a disturbance in my home.”

 

“I had a friend over.”

 

“A friend?” He looked at her.

 

“A girl.” She smiled wryly. “What did you work on?”

 

“Mining,” he said.

 

“Mining what?”

 

“Just mining.” He smirked at her. “You going to see this girl again?”

 

She bit her lip. “I don’t know what I want to do with her right now.” She bit her thumbnail as he left her alone.

 

She wished she could feel something. But it felt so calm. No...so numb. Her mind was static and she was used to having six different screens going. She wanted to be angry or be sad. Wanted to cry to someone.

 

She just stared and sipped her tea. One hour ago felt like it changed everything.

 

_Is she really different though?_

 

* * *

 

_**One Day** _

__

Kara woke up in her bed on a new day. She had gotten home the night before and went to bed before Alex could yell. Before Eliza could ask. She was just exhausted before anything.

****

She sat up, turned and hunched over. Her eyes burned and her nose was scratched up and raw. She checked her phone. Nothing from Lena.

 

She checked the girl’s social media. She had meetings that morning. Now she was in the park with Sam and the woman’s daughter. Her story had the looping video of little Ruby in a swing.

 

The door swung open and Alex stood there. Uniform and all. She was immaculate. She was wide awake, not purple under her eyes as to defy logic. She held a cup coffee. She held a plate of grits and pancakes with egg whites. She was looking at Kara with a blank expression to hide any sense of antagonization. She was failing to do so because Kara saw the pity in her hazel eyes.

 

“That doesn’t look like food you give someone who’s about to be wrung out,” Kara said dryly. Alex rolled her eyes and gave her the plate first and put the mug on Kara’s nightstand. She sat next to her. The heroine picked at the grits, stabbing at the browned layer that acted like a shell. She felt genuinely disinterested in eating.

 

“I told Clark I’d be the one to yell at you. Then you came home. Mom said you brushed past her and shut the door. You’re not an isolator. That’s me. I knew it was more than just what I thought it was. I want to know.”

 

Kara swapped the mug and plate, clinging to the warmth, clinking her ring on it. “I talked to Lena after I wondered about her assistant. Realized it was so stupid. I was embarrassed. So, I just…wanted to see her. Know to myself that it was all in my head and misplaced. Just seeing her. Even as Supergirl.”

“Okay, so nothing wrong until that last part. You went to see her as Supergirl?”

 

“I mean we’re kinda friends in that sense of me. I thought dinner and talking would be okay! We were casually talking. I noticed she was wearing my sweatshirt. I asked her about me. I asked how she felt. She said to me “I love you actually” to if she liked me. It spiraled. I panicked and we talked. She thought it was because of Lex and Lillian’s points of views…”

 

“And to the DEO, it’s exactly that and then some.”

 

“I said it was someone else influencing it, but it was true. That why would I put her in my life if I didn’t have faith.  That I…loved her. She told me to leave. I did. Stopped that alien. Got to Kal and finally broke down. Here I am now.” She swallowed, feeling tears well up. “Yell if you have to.”

 

“The thing I’m mad about is you showing up around Lex Luthor’s apartment in regalia. I can’t be mad at that. I can just pity you at this point.”

 

“Ouch. Thanks.” Kara scrunched up her brow and stood up. She looked out the window and sipped her coffee.

 

“I mean that I just…I know you couldn’t keep it a secret forever. That you wouldn’t. That’s not you. I would never force that on you. And having someone take that moment of decision away is cruel. It’s as if she forced you out of the closet.” She looked at Kara. “But there’s one thing she’ll need. Time. She’s a thinker. She has to process this and figure out what she wants.”

 

Kara hunched, hands on the windowsill. “…Right.” She sipped her coffee. Alex got up and walked over to her. She put an arm around the girl's shoulder. “I just want to know if I’m waiting for the end or the next part of this.”

 

“Loving someone is a lot of not knowing.” Alex squeezed her shoulder. “Is this the first time you said it?”

 

“To her, yeah.” Kara sighed. “I feel like a fool.”

 

Alex pulled her little sister close and hugged her tight.

 

* * *

 

_**Two days** _

 

Lena felt her focus shifting in and out as she went through the video call with Maggie and Sam on her plane back. Sam wasn't flying out yet, but Lena absolutely had to get home. “…and when we get to California there will be a few days of getting situated. Miss Sawyer, the laptop you gave me the contact info for has been sent all the presentations. I know Lena likes a more casual setting during these bids so the location you two agreed on. I set up a table for you—”

 

“Miss Sawyer?” Maggie interrupted.

 

Lena looked at the older woman. Sam looked flustered. “I’m sorry I didn’t know how you wanted to be addressed. I’m really sorry.”

 

“Sam, it’s fine.  Just know those we’re working with a lot will be on very personal during their introduction. I’ll warn you who will want to be addressed formally.”

 

Sam nodded and smiled at her. She looked down at her papers.

 

“What do you think of what they’ve presented so far?” Maggie asked the assistant.

 

“It’s not really my place to voice an opinion…”

 

“Well, Sam I mean if you want to be more than an assistant here I wouldn’t be opposed. That title is honestly below you,” Lena said lightly. She smiled, forcing it.

 

There was too much to do to wallow like a petty teenage girl. 

 

“I think these designs are just so extravagant. It’s so chic but it’s millions of dollars and will take longer. I think it’s best to make it as simple as possible. Look like a schoolhouse. Maybe a mural on the side of a brick building for the wow factor? Plus, how amazing would it be to maybe employ a queer architect? Entirely embody what you two want—this place of growth even if your beginnings as who you are is less than ideal. Right?”

 

Maggie and Lena were smiling. “I’ll look into that and make that part of the vetting—their value of the community. Because of course, the premise of this project is unknown,” Lena said.

 

Sam signed off eventually and Maggie looked at Lena.

**I can tell you know** , she typed into the chat box.

 

She saw Maggie’s posture change as she went to type.

 

**She’s a wreck**

**But I see where you’re coming from**

Lena bit her lip and then signed off without another word. She shut her laptop and let out a few calming breaths.

 

She covered her eyes with her mask and put on her headphones.

 

* * *

 

**_Three days_ **

 Lena got back on the ground after working up in the air. She took a few gulps of water and sat on the floor. She had the clawing desire to message Kara. She chose instead to call Maggie, not having talked to her after abruptly shutting her off. 

 

The third ring Maggie picked up. “Hey." 

"Hi. How are things?" 

 

 "Screw the little formalities, Lena. How are you holding up?” Maggie asked.

 

Lena sighed. “I feel nothing, Maggie. I expected to be angry, to cry…I feel nothing.”

 

“Did you break up with her?” Maggie asked.

 

“No! I don’t…I don’t know what to do, Mags.” She let out a shaky breath. “Maggie, she was lying to me. I know the dire situation but she was pushing it, wasn’t she?”

 

“Am I supposed to validate you being angry?”

 

“That's the thing--I don’t feel anything, Maggie. Am I angry? Am I hurt? What am I supposed to be beside fucking confused? Wouldn’t you be if Alex had lied to you?”

 

“I was! Lena—Alex lied about me about her profession. She could’ve been killed and I’d be none the wiser to how or why.”

 

“You didn’t want to see her right?”

 

Maggie sighed and Lena heard a dull thud. “I mean…yeah. But I thought she was cheating on me. I got drunk as hell and Kara found me. She took me to her house and Alex finally told me.”

 

“You think she would’ve if you hadn’t demanded truth?” Lena shut her laptop, having worked on her research for Sam’s idea.

 

“I trust my partner. She could’ve not told me that day. She did. And I could choose to leave her or continue with this with my new knowledge. I knew that second. But this is different. Kara didn’t get to choose. Why does this bother you?”

 

“I think I’ve made it clear.” Lena got up and put water on the stove. She propped herself on the granite counter.

 

“You have? Because I think Kara is confused on what she is to do. She wants nothing more than to see you.”

 

“I’m not ready to see her.”

 

“Fine. What do you want to do then? What do you want Lena?”

 

Lena took a pause and grit her teeth. She rolled her shoulders. “I want to fucking punch someone at this point.”

 

“I’ll get you something to punch I really can’t fucking take seeing her like this. And I know you don’t want to go on like this.”  

 

“Fine.”

 

* * *

 

**_Four days_ **

Maggie palmed the NDA in her pocket as she walked into the empty school and had her shoulders set. She put her bag down as she walked into the locker room, changing and grabbing her boxing tape. She entered the weights room to see it empty sans Lena. She had her hands on a bench and legs shaking as they stuck out, pressed together, and her body lifted inches off the bench. She saw Maggie and lost it, collapsing and panting.

 

“You know you don’t come off as that type.” Maggie shifted her shoulders. Lena was wordless. “Hey, you were talking up a storm last night.”

 

Lena sighed and stood. “I guess I’m just paranoid now that I’m here. I mean there’s no avoiding her. We have three class periods together.”

 

Maggie just hummed and set up her wireless speaker. “What makes you want to hit shit?”

 

“Don’t judge me…but Imagine Dragons.”

 

Maggie snorted lightly. “I’d read you but you’re making my dreams come true so I’ll keep it shut.” She put on a random playlist and wrapped Lena’s hands for her.

 

“You don’t have to feel obligated to take my side just because what I’m doing for you. I understand you have loyalties to the Danvers. My kindness is unconditional for a friend.”

 

“I know. That’s how you get used, Lena.” She walked over to the black bag held together in parts by tape. “Okay. Time to start hitting. Aggression is here.” She patted the bag and bracing it.

 

Lena put her fists up. A few hits in and she stopped. “I know I’m being dramatic sometimes. But I’ve been lied to all my life.”

 

Maggie looked at her. “Cry me a river. Keep striking.” She ducked behind again.

 

She hit again. “Lillian did…whatever she could…to make me feel unlovable!” She paused and sucked in a few breaths. “She made me lie. Help her lie. Said my dad deserved deception for what he did. She didn’t tell me what he did.”

 

“Lillian’s a bitch. Keep going,” Maggie called. Lena took a few gulps of water and took her stance. “Square up. This bag is everything you hate right now. Your mother, Kara, Ted Cruz—just fucking go at it.”

 

“I don’t hate Kara.”

 

“Strike it!”

 

 She slammed her fists in. “I want my dad on a pedestal. But sometimes he wasn’t truthful. His fucking affairs. His ego. Lex, sometimes I can’t tell if it’s his own disposition or something my father did to him that’s made him so obsessive.”

 

“Kick it,” Maggie ordered. She got up, showing the girl what to do, acting like she didn’t see the steam rising, the redness in her face. The lack of inhibition or faith in those green eyes became ignored. Lena could’ve been held together only by glue sticks and gum but she would manage to keep it under the radar.

 

Lena landed a kick and returned to striking. “Lex is a façade. Does he even fucking care? Does he even think? All the things we did, I could tell some were busy work. He’s lying, he’s hiding. I know why the world villainizes him…I just can’t accept it being him. I knew that little boy that loved so endlessly and was almost an artist in his inventiveness. Now he feels like a shell. A shell with an agenda I can’t know of unless he loses the company or gets himself killed. And it tears me up!” She became sloppy, pummeling her fists into the bag like it was someone’s chest and they held her in place.

 

Another kick, a stumble to keep her footing, and a return to strikes and grunts. “Does she even fucking care! What’s the truth? What if she…” She stepped back, trembling. Maggie wanted to shout at her to keep going, but she noticed. She finally saw the falling pieces and the inevitable implosion she couldn’t even begin to grasp when it began. “What if she did this as a cover and I fell for a fucking spy?” She sobbed. “I told her everything. I laid my cards. I can’t…I can’t take being lied to. Not by her.”

 

Maggie let go of the bag and went to step aside. Lena screamed, no words, just the expression of emotion as her fist connected. Bag flew back, Maggie was on her ass.

 

“Fuck…” Maggie grunted and rolled to her knees and got to a kneel. Lena ran over and helped her the rest of the way.

 

“I’m sorry.” She smiled sheepishly and sniffled.

 

“For such a small kid you’re strong. Why did Kara need to save you from Mon? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” Maggie cracked her neck.

 

Lena snorted a bit and wiped at her eyes. “I mean…”

 

Maggie moved and hugged her. “Hey, it’s okay.” The girl was silent, hugging to her tight. “I’m proud of you. Did exactly what I wanted.” She stroked the girl’s hair and kissed her on the hairline. “Hey, Lee?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If Kara was doing that know I would’ve sent her ass back to the Phantom Zone.”

 

“I don’t know what that is but thank you.” Lena stepped back and checked her watch. “I’m going to change.”

 

“Wait, I need you to do something for Alex.” Maggie grabbed the paper from her bag and clicked open a pen. “Sign at the bottom.”

 

Lena frowned and took it. “I was expecting someone to break down my door and make me sign. Not my partner in a charity.”

 

“I’m just the messenger. Not the lawyer or the hired muscle. Though I totally could be because…” She motioned down at her body. “Obviously. But it’s just something. Promising you won’t like tell the press or any terrorist rings who she is.”

 

“Right.” Lena signed after skimming it. It was surprisingly short for an NDA. She had seen ones that were their own novels.

 

* * *

 

_**Five Days** _

 

Winn worked with Kara on her suit in his small fortress. She bit at her protein bar and walked around, holding a page of his notebook she had taken out to look at.

 

“I love the new ideas, but I hate the pants. I’ll compromise on the heels because breaking one was hell. It was an Achilles heel.” She smirked as he groaned.

 

“I hate you more than most things but I also love you more than anything. Why are you like this.” He shot a rubber band at her and she blocked it with the design.

 

“Fuck you. I’ll be a great father-figure.”

 

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his pen before approaching the swath of fabric. “It’s overwhelming have millions of dollars at my disposal to make your costume and I’m still tempted to just go to the fabric store near the farmer’s market.”

 

“I went from trying to get a barista job to making more than my dream job will give me, Winn I know what being overwhelmed by this is. Henshaw literally stresses how all that relies on me crash landing.”

 

He looked over as she flipped through his book. “So…you talked to Lena yet?”

 

She paused and shrugged. “Maggie turned in her NDA yesterday. We’re skipping lunch. In Lang, she sat outside to write. I could talk to her during journalism, but…that’s not the place. There isn’t a right time.” She sighed. “I want to talk to her more than anything.”

 

“I know.” He frowned.

 

She packed up. “I have to talk to Miss Grant. I’ll see you.”

 

“Yeah. See you.” He sat back as she left. He checked his phone, looking through his notifications until he got a new one.

 

**_Lena: Can I hide out in your room?_ **

****

**_I’m in it right now._ **

****

**_Lena: ok_ **

****

**_I’m alone_ **

****

A knock at the door came.

 

“Open.”

 

Lena came in. She had no makeup on and the crescent moons under her eyes made him think of war paint. She adjusted her sweater sleeves and then her glasses. He hardly saw them on her. They made her look softer.

 

“Hey,” she said softly.

 

He smiled at her. “Hi.” He pulled a chair out for her. She walked over.

 

“Those your designs for her suit?” She pointed at the notebook and scattered squares of fabric.

 

He shuffled to cover them. “Um—I—yeah…” He expected a form of anger. “I’m sorry—”

 

“Oh no!” She held up her hands. “Winn, I’m not angry at any of you. I’m guessing you have those NDA’s too.”

 

He looked down and uncovered the notebook. She sat next to him. “May I?” she whispered to him. He nodded. She picked it up. “The original one yours?”

 

“Yeah…I sewed all but the cape. That was her cousin’s baby blanket.” He sat straight, coughing into his fist.

 

She nodded. “Superman’s her cousin? Is he…”

 

“Yeah.” He sighed and ran his hands over his cheeks. He needed to shave, a patchy shadow over his jaw and cheeks. “Um…what do you think of it?”

 

“The heels are honestly atrocious. But the material seems sturdy. It’s a bulletproof material—some sort of polymer. Inorganic right? It’s not like normal clothes by a long slide. How did you get access to that as a civilian?”

 

“I honestly found it buried in this fabric warehouse store. I got lucky it was blue. Kara wanted to match her cousin.” He got up and grabbed the remaining swath. Enough for another suit or two. He passed it to her. She held it between her thumb and index finger, feeling the nylon-like weaving.

 

“That’s tragic. I know a material—only comes in black. It is like chain mail in properties. I noticed that blades can pierce this material. Bullets can’t but those are soft metals and she is bulletproof as well…”

 

“So, yours would resist blades. Could it go without being damaged by bullets? More importantly, metals not on the periodic table?”

 

“That’s an excellent question! I haven’t seen it tested like that but I do believe we could test it given a lab.” She put down the cloth. “I think if it was the lining of the material you use…” She sketched hatching of a light square and then a darker one to indicated the layering and then he watched a red thread work its way along in the image when she grabbed his red pencil. “I think that can be what you use. I noticed the details…the crest do anything for her in that vulnerable area?”

 

“Purely aesthetic. Kara has a flair for the dramatics.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table.

 

“Purely a waste of space!” She flipped the page. “You don’t mind?”

 

He smiled, amazed and hopeful. “I don’t.” He looked at his phone. “Not much more time. How about we meet up after school?”

 

“I have a meeting with potential firms. We just said no to the first line and are trying to maybe give—I shouldn’t be talking about this.”

 

“I shouldn’t be talking about this.” He held up his book.

 

She smiled softly.  “How about we meet up during lunch tomorrow?”

 

“Sounds perfect.” She got up and went to the door. “Lena?”

 

She stopped and looked back. “Hm?”

 

“Does this mean you forgive her?”

 

“Winn, let’s just work on this for now.” She left, the door clicking shut. He looked at the mess she began. The depth of the crest, deconstructing it…what did she have in mind?

 

* * *

 

**_Six Days_ **

It was after watching Kara walk into work looking like a zombie that he could do it. It was after a long series of midnight texts from Lena he could do it. He stood up after Kara left for patrol and walked the winding halls to the entrance to hell. It did not, in fact, say "abandon all hope, all he who enter here" but rather had a simple placard saying, **Director Hank Henshaw**. 

Winn took a deep breath, shaking out his hands before he reached for the doorknob. He stopped, fixed his hair and his tie. He reached for the doorknob. He paused. He checked his breath. He reached for the doorknob.

 

He stopped.

 

“Agent Schott, can I help you?”

 

Winn jumped and turned around. Director Henshaw stood there with his arms crossed.

 

“Sir—I was just about to come talk to you,” Winn stuttered out, voice high and he felt his back in a cold sweat.

 

Henshaw arched a brow. “What is it?”

 

“Well—you see I have been working on improving Kara’s suit—Supergirl’s suit—and I need some help. I know I could always use Alex, but this is more inventive in the machine complex sort of way and was wondering if I could bring in a third party. By the way, they have already signed an NDA and are very skilled.” He stopped. “Please don’t fire me for this suggestion.”

 

The director stepped up and looked down at the boy. He saw the pure look of fear, the beading sweat.

 

“Agent Schott, your whole time here has been thin ice. Honestly, I don’t like seeing outsiders come into my department.”

 

“I’m very aware sir. But if people know about secrets we keep wouldn’t it benefit us to make an ally out of them rather make them walk around the street feeling the threat of persecution? I spent a week hiding from you and now I work for you. Isn’t the latter better?” He forced a smile and wiped at his forehead.

 

“Fine. Who is it?”

 

“Lena Luthor.”   


“Absolutely not.”

 

“She’s already been cleared! NDA filed. She has a lot of good ideas I just need her there with me for actual construction. I’ll keep her monitored.”

 

 _Kara needs this so much._  

 

Henshaw arched a brow. “Fine. But she is to stay in your workroom and must be escorted in and out. And searched before she enters.”

 

“Thank you.” He looked at the Director. “I know you like secrets under lock and key, sir. Thank you for the leeway.”

 

“Don’t make a habit.” Hank entered his office and locked the door. Winn smiled and walked off.

 

* * *

 

**_A week_ **

 

Lena swallowed nervously as Winn drove. He looked over at her briefly and smiled reassuringly. “I was scared the first time too. Didn’t help I was carried bridal style by Kara as she flew,” he said lightly.

 

They entered the desert and he stopped the car. “This is nowhere,” she mumbled.

 

He sighed and unlocked the door. Two black SUVs pulled up next to them. “There’s a lot you’ll be learning today. Remember your NDA extends to it as well.”

 

“I guessed. This is the force keeping her quiet?”

 

He just nodded. Alex stepped up to the car, sunglasses on and uniform on. Hand on a gun and the other tapping with two knuckles on the window. Lena and Winn got out.

 

Alex looked over at her fellow agent and then down at the girl. “You’ve been granted a contractor access to the DEO—that is the department of extranormal occurrences. Dedicated to research, persecution, protection. Anything you see, hear, the experience is to not be written about, photographed, recorded, or orally relayed. You’ll be shadowing Agent Schott and will do as he says. Your presence in the compound is need-to-know. If you break any rules or cause any incident you will be persecuted accordingly. Is that clear Miss Luthor?”

 

Lena bit her lip. She looked over at Winn. He nodded at her. “Yes, that’s clear,” she mumbled.

 

Alex nodded and grabbed a blindfold. “To keep you unaware of the location you’ll be blindfolded. Might I?”

 

“Fine.” Lena sighed as she was led into an SUV and then blindfolded. “I’m trusting Winn here, not you.”

 

“Feeling’s mutual,” Alex muttered.

 

Lena sat in the back. She could tell Alex was to her left as she was the last thing she saw.

 

“So that’s why she couldn’t tell me,” Lena mumbled.

 

“There’s also it is her choice. Not yours.”

 

“You of all people know what lies can do to people who just want to be trusted.”

 

“You don’t get trust by force,” Alex shot back.

 

“I know. Why I don’t trust you right now.”

 

“I’m not trying for it. She is though. She isn’t pulling. You’re stagnant and what is it doing but hurting you both?”

 

“That’s enough,” Lena heard Winn say. His voice indicated he was to her right.

 

 

* * *

 

**_Ten days_ **

 

Winn and Lena worked hours a day for several days until content. She brought the fabric, sneaking the samples she had. Testing the properties showed it had a resistance to Valeronian metal and certain blasters (of course the force emitted could never be deflected).

 

Lena studied the stitch-work. “You know if this agent job doesn’t work out, you can become a fashion designer.”

 

“Sewing’s a hobby. Tech analysis is a life’s purpose.” He smiled. “I’m just happy to have some help. Kara is kind of no help with her own suit. It’s just “keep the skirt, lose the heel.” It’s fun to have someone to shoot ideas off of. The lining is ingenious and will make Kara safer.”

 

“I just resent her keeping the skirt a little bit,” Lena said.

 

“Is that because you like her in pants or is it an actual worry about how it affects her aerodynamics and ability to battle?"

 

“Bit of both. But it is just so Kara to want to keep that bit of femininity in her badass persona.” Lena picked up the new suit. “Does she worry about how obvious it could be to have this just under her clothes?”

 

“She’s gotten away with it. Plus, she can switch within a second so long as her suit isn’t on the other side of the world in a bunker,” he said. He walked over and looked at the crest. Rather just a sewn-on patch it was a breast piece, done in metal. He clicked the sides and it came off. A brilliant yellow light came off from it.

 

Lena smiled. “Thank you for telling me a bit about them. I know I should ask her to know more.”

 

“There’s more to Supergirl than her powers. She comes from a rich culture. Has a religion she values, a family outside the Danvers and Superman.” He put the crest back on, light off and it clicked back in place.

 

She cleaned up their station. He put the suit in a clear box protected (protected under fingerprint and passcode) until Kara could try it on tomorrow.

 

“So are you going to be around for it?”

 

She took a deep breath and simply smiled at him.

 

* * *

 

_**Eleven Days** _

__

Kara came into work in her street clothes, as told to. She felt groggy, head keeping her up and putting her on a track for a few hours of sleep and a lot at the school gym lifting with her ring on to feel the strain. She needed it. Telling Lena made her feel the most alien she had since she had shown up.

 

 Winn had taken her cape for her “new and improved suit.” She honestly just expected a heel change, maybe a different shade of red or blue. Longer skirt maybe? She knew she didn’t give too much input but she hadn’t really cared. The suit was fine. Everything was fine.

 

Winn approached her, smiling like a fiend. “Well hello fellow agent,” he joked. He offered her some club soda. She took it and took a sip.

 

“What is it?” She stared at him. He just smiled. “Did you put something in this?”

 

“No! Nothing is going on! I’m acting normal.” He took her hand. “Follow me. I have a few new surprises with this suit. If you hate any we change them, but I’m really proud of what we did.”

 

“We?” She looked at him, brow arched.

 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I, um…got some help.”

 

“I didn’t take Alex as a tailor.” He opened the door for her. She saw the case with her suit in it. But she couldn’t care less about that suit.

 

Not when Lena stood there in front of the suit, hands folded in front of her and a shy smile on her lips.

 

“I’m not much for sewing but I can invent creative ways and I like to think I know how to make someone look put-together,” Lena said, voice light and cautious. She fiddled with her bracelets, just seeing how Kara reacted.

 

The heroine felt herself smiling like an idiot for the first few seconds. “Lena…” She finally got out. She walked over and picked the girl up in her arms. “I’m sorry.”

 

Lena held onto her for dear life. “We can talk about it. We need to talk. But for now, you have a new suit to try on.” Lena got put down and she stepped aside.

 

Kara studied the suit. It was grand really. The blue was darker but she could notice the lining. In a certain light, its red almost looked like gold thread. She reached and felt it. It was kind of heavy, like armor. But of course, bent and stretched like nylon.

 

“The crest is different.” She felt the cool metal, the difference in mass even if it was feather-like in weight to her without her ring on.

 

“It’s a way to keep you from being debilitated.” Lena reached for it, clicked it from the suit and turned it on. The small yellow lamp was its own sun.

 

Kara smiled again, almost laughing out of excitement. “That’s so cool.” She took it and had Lena teach her to put it on and take it off again. “I love everything about it. Thanks, you two.”

 

“Go try it on,” Winn said. With a brush of a breeze to the two inventors, Kara was changed. She stood with her proud stance. She looked at the boots now. “No heel.”

 

“For the best. A chunky heel is just foolish. Flats or stilettos,” Lena piped. Her girlfriend smiled down at her.

 

“I missed you.” She put an arm around her.

 

“Oh, I gotta go.” Winn turned around and walked out.

 

Lena looked up at her. “I missed you too. I'm sorry.”

 

"I should've told you before I dated you. I'm sorry. But for now..." Kara tipped her head up, leaned in and got the closure of a kiss. She had almost forgotten the warmth of Lena. Almost lost her way in the direction to place her thumb on her cheek and tangle her fingers into her deep brown hair.

 

Lena gripped Kara by the shoulders, pulling her close, body hopelessly drawn.

 

She knew there would be more than one conversation. That there was more to this than forgiveness or explanation. It was too childish to think it was so easy.

 

She just needs this long kiss, feel the powerful and solid body of her girlfriend against her. Though it felt new, to have windswept curls brush her cheek and to have a cape wrap around her with Kara’s arm, completely encapsulating her in love and safety and warmth.

 

They kiss broke and they still remain embraced, breaths a bit jagged. Lena nuzzled into Kara’s shoulder, the material a bit rough on her cheek but the warmth of Kara too inviting to care. The cape was almost an extension of Kara, protective and comforting.

 

 But how could it not be? Supergirl wasn’t an alter-ego, wasn’t really a secret or façade. Supergirl was…Kara. In an odd way, it was so aggressively and legitimately her. A protector, a force of good, powerful yet could be just as soft.  

 

“Let’s say this right,” Kara whispered. She kissed Lena’s forehead. “I love you.”

 

Lena chuckled, feeling her eyes get misty. She fought through it and smiled up at Kara. “I love you too.”

 

_Eleven days. Eleven days’ time._

_Time heals all wounds._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading


	29. My Only Friend, the End

Kara stood up, perching on the top of the skyscraper’s needle. She could see the world below, hear the indistinct voices of the citizens of her city. She knew what a couple was going to have for dinner, that a kind old woman was talking about her neighbors to her daughter, there were kids from school talking about Dr. G, having found her old MySpace page. She smirked to herself and leaned in and in until gravity swept her off. The air screamed past her body as she let herself fall, only catching moments before impact. She cheered and zoomed around the city, watching to not break the sound barrier. The voices died out then. She wanted to find that singular heartbeat but stopped herself. The lub-dub going on millions of times at millisecond differences of faster or slower. Some louder than others. Some nights it made her skull feel ready to explode and others it overwhelmed her with how she could possibly keep all those beating hearts at ease. But now they were simply…white noise.

She smiled to herself as she felt cold air in her lungs and her cape flapping behind her, taught with her own speed.

She dipped lower to the ground, humans going to beetles rather than small ants. She could make out different colors on the tops of heads. The beanies, the fedoras, the hair. Odd colors and some pastels and a lot of fall colors. She chuckled softly at a man losing his toupee in the windy day, catching it moments later but red from exposition.

She circled around and wondered to herself if this would get her in trouble. Henshaw nagged her whenever she went out without checking in first. Without her tracker or her earpiece. But whatever! She was almost an adult. It was her powers!

She smirked to herself and did a loop and dipped to the water, running her fingers along the surface. It was cool to the touch for her and she could smell the tinge of salt, taste it too. She couldn’t wait for it to become spring. Some days it would be warm enough and she and Lena could spend time in the water together. She blushed at Lena in a bathing suit. It might be a two-piece, unlike the racing suit Lena had on that one morning.

She noticed a few fishermen on the pier. She waved and winked at a kid with an agape mouth. She went out further from the concrete dwelling of the bystanders. She was in awe at how the water was so vividly blue as she left city limits. She knew James would kill to capture these shots. He talked of the crazy stories of Clark carrying him so he could get a good shot. When he published them, he would smugly say he simply used a bird’s eye view. People were dying to know his equipment but it was just a camera and a helping hand from his friendly alien.

She was off in her mind when a whirring registered in her mind. She knew that how lost she got would’ve been admonished by Alex. She looked up and noticed a drone. She chuckled a bit and saluted at it, figuring it belonged to someone at the pier that wanted to capture Supergirl’s image or maybe a News outlet as they were dying for a shot.  She had been used to people photographing her at this point. In a weird way, she enjoyed it. Call it cocky, but she was in ways becoming less of a mystery than Superman was. It took years for a clear photo of him. For her, it was a handful of weeks.

She pulled up, moving away from the water. She was shocked to see the drone be able to cut up so quickly with her. She furrowed her brow and chuckled to herself. “Henshaw, you’re really trying to be cute here, huh?” Of course, it had to be DEO if he had such a feat to it. She thought he had become trusting of her. He wasn’t without flaw! And she wasn’t one of his agents. She was paid by him but she didn’t give up her rights to privacy off the clock. She cut around a skyscraper and dipped through the hole in another building, hoping to lose whoever was controlling it.

She grabbed her phone and texted Winn.

**_Is Henshaw making you do this?_ **

**_Winn: Do what?_ **

**_Winn: Kara what do you mean?_ **

She frowned to herself.

**_Nothing I just thought I saw something follow me. It’s ok don’t worry_ **

She looked over her shoulder and saw it following still. She slipped her phone into the small pocket on her pant leg for it and turned around, stopping in midair. She looked at it closely. The body was silver and sleek. The glare almost made her lose it in the bright sky. She squinted closely. No markings. Though would the DEO really mark something that could fail and fall into the world? Where could a civilian find it first? 

She hissed and shot her heat vision at it. It was struck and began to lose altitude. She huffed and considered going to the DEO to give Henshaw a piece of her mind for it. And he didn’t even have a sense of owning up to something so gall as spying on her. He had to be all covert about it as if he was expecting something treasonous to be occurring.

She shut her eyes as she floated about, pausing when she heard a whirring. Her eyes shot open and there she saw it again. She went down and landed on a roof of a business building. She looked up as the drone lowered to just above her.

“Okay, you fuck,” she hissed and fired at it again with her vision. It dodged and fired back at her a short steam of red light. She groaned and felt a rush of weakness. She sucked in a breath and let out frost. She usually could freeze metal brittle. It just was a few snowflakes and tapered off. She collapsed to her knees. She was used to a gentle decline but this was a sudden cut. It wasn’t painful like kryptonite could but it certainly wasn’t a sense of euphoria.

She clicked on the sun lamp emblem and she felt the rush of power return. She clenched her first and pressed her knuckles into the concrete. A bit of pressure left small craters of dust. She sucked in a long breath of air and stood slowly.

“I guess their design really thought of everything.” She looked back up at the drone, catching it as it shifted out of the light.

She lunged at it, flying and grabbing it by an arm. She threw it into the roof. It shattered like a porcelain doll. It could dodge lasers or be equipped to absorb it. But super-strength and an unforgiving concrete surface? Truly an Achilles' heel. 

She smiled smugly and went to the edge of the building’s roof.

“What’s the rush Supergirl!”

She whirled and saw a group of people dressed in black and wearing masks. She attempted to see their faces with her vision, but they were layered with lead. She thought of how dangerous it could be if there was fail in such simplistic masks. They looked like what one would wear when they went paintballing.  She moved back down, hopping from the edge.

“I don’t want to hurt you all. If we stop here, it’ll be okay.”

They pulled guns. She grimaced and held her hands up. “I won’t fight you. You wanna shoot an unarmed woman?”

“You’re not a woman,” a man piped. He stepped up in front of the men wielding the weapons. He wore a crisp suit and a white mask, unlike the others. The skin on his hands was alabaster. “At least not of the human kind. You have no value of mercy to me.” His voice was smooth, menacing, even if it was muffled. She almost could recognize it.

She dropped her hands from her near her head to in front of her torso, bunching up her fists. “You really don’t want to try it.” He pulled a gun from his belt. She kept her expression stoic. “I think we both know what’ll happen when you pull the trigger, sir. Please, you might hurt yourself or your acquaintances.”

He huffed, lowered the gun and…laughed. Her laughed gently, smugly. He brought the gun back up and a shot went to her left leg. She expected it to bounce off, a pitiful mess of bent copper or disintegrated lead.

But no.

It embedded in her skin and her whole body felt like she had been set on fire. She fell to her knees. The shift made the wound let out another pulse of pain. She screamed and cursed, not wanting to cry. Her fingers trembled as her whole body invited any way to relieve the pain. Pass out, throw up, cry out to Rao.

She panted through the pain and shifted to sit back. She grabbed her leg and studied. Her skin glowed green.

“You…no…” She choked up.  

“I do. I have kryptonite.” He tucked the gun away. “Grab her.”

The men with guns aimed at her lowered their weapons and approached. She tried to crawl away but two grabbed her arms and pinned her. The third extracted a syringe from his breast pocket and handed it to the man that shot her.

She growled. “Fuck you!” She kicked her good leg and then a wave of sickness hit her, making her groan. The man stepped up and uncapped the needle. A man held her head steady, exposing her neck.

They got her blood. She cried out when the needle broke the skin and she felt hatred rise in her blood like hot lead. She stared at him intensely, wanting him to see every ounce of rage if he was going to kill her.

He capped the needle and put the syringe into the hands of the man. “Get that somewhere safe.” He walked away. He took off his mask, back to Kara. He had no hair. 

Her skin got chills as she heard his voice loud and clear.

“You boys know what to do. Clean up that messy war weapon…and don’t forget the drone. Maybe broken but is still worth all of you combined.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared into the doorway access to the roof.

Kara tried to fight out of their grip, jerking her body to throw them off balance. Her body felt like it weighed triple all while her bones felt like they could barely hold a feather without shattering. Adrenaline only dulled it to a point as she was actively poisoned.

A weighty boot sole landed in the small of her back, sending her onto her face. Her nose smashed into the concrete and she rolled onto her stomach. The kicks came, some hooking under her and getting ribs, her eye, the already fucked shin.

“Look at her—some hero,” one muttered, digging his heel and pivoting it side to side on her bullet wound as if he was snuffing out a cigarette.

“Agh! Fuck you,” she growled and used her good leg to kick his knee. He grunted and stumbled.

“Fucking bitch.” He spat on her and gave her a sure kick to the gut. She curled up in the fetal position. “Some hero.”

“Christ, how old can she be? Sixteen? Eighteen at most. Fucking hell.” The man speaking knelt at her level. He rolled her onto her back. “What you got here, kid? Hm?” He ran his hands along her limbs. He stopped at her phone. “Oh.” He pulled it out and stood. “I think two minutes and we could figure your identity and everyone you love. Pass it over to my boss.”

Her work phone…if hacked would send the location. She stared at him.

“Hurting me isn’t the goal. It’s killing me.”

He laughed. “Scientists are out there to solve the world’s problems. Objectively you…are a problem. Something so strong. Like a nuclear bomb.” He threw the phone over the edge of the building.

The man that dug his heel into her wound came up to her again.

He held his gun up, having abandoned it to its holster until that moment. It clicked loudly and she laid herself on her back. It didn’t matter the bullet. With that ball of kryptonite in her leg, it could be anything to kill her.

She stared blankly as he pressed the cold barrel to between her eyes.

“What is a god to a nonbeliever, Supergirl?” He whispered and pulled it away. “Disgraceful." He grimaced and looked at the men. "Let’s go." They cleaned up the drone, grabbed the bullet casing from their boss' gun, and were gone. 

Gentle white clouds drifted. She could see it barely through her left eye as it began to swell shut. Her left leg was on fire and her body screamed. Was it for mercy or for help?

She suddenly felt panic get her sat up. She pulled the injured leg up and studied the wound. It hadn’t healed around the bullet but it would.

She thought to herself.

_You can’t go to the hospital. They don’t know what to do and it’ll be chaos. Can’t call anyone right now. No money or phone. No tracking you with a broken phone._

_I’ll be dead before I make it to the DEO._

_I need to get somewhere safe._

She held the singular drone shard she was able to get up to her face. She grimaced and slipped it into her pocket. She moved onto her knees. Her whole body was weak and she felt like hot metal was her blood. Every heartbeat was pain and she almost wanted to just curl up and die there.

But there were people out there. People that they didn’t need a phone to find those she loved. Not if they could do this to her. She pulled herself up, leaning into the AC unit. She tested her weight on the leg. She saw spots in her vision but he missed bone and didn’t hit any vessels or arteries.

_If reading up on anatomy taught you anything is that you’ll live—just need to get this bullet out so you can heal._

She frowned. They would be inside so she couldn't take the stairs down. Though she doesn't know what the building she's on holds. She could scare the shit out of a bunch of poor residents or workers. She limped to the fire escape. It was the most painful fifteen minutes getting down to the ground. She got down there and sank to the ground again, out of breath and tears freely running down her cheeks. Her black eye burned at the salt.

She got up and stumbled through the alleys.

* * *

 

Lena walked through her house, alone for the day. There was the usual note, the apology that was ingenuine even if done in calligraphy.

She got out a bottle of cold brew and twisted it open, sipping it slowly as made her way back upstairs to work on her lab report for science class. She was sweating the deadline a bit. She was going to work the night before but Kara had offered to take her out to dinner. She wasn’t going to say no to her.

She sat down at her desk and opened her laptop back up. She leaned against the back of her chair and bit her thumbnail as she consulted her notes about the results.

She was snapped out of her thought process by a tap at her window.

_Tap…..tap….tap_

It was unlike what Kara had done before. Usually, it was like knocking on the door. She opened her window and looked down. She saw a figure laying out underneath her window. There was a red cape, pooling over the crumpled body.

She gasped and ran down the stairs and outside. “Kara!” She cried and knelt next to her. She pulled away the cape and saw the girl’s swollen face. She was curled up in the fetal position. To see a strong woman like this...it broke her heart.

“Le-Lena…” She reached up and gripped Lena’s shirt. Lena looked and saw blood all over her pant leg. “My calve, someone shot me.”

“Wouldn’t it just bounce off? Kara?” Lena whipped her head around, looking frantically for any witnesses. “Let’s get you inside. Quickly.” She helped Kara to her feet, letting her lean in to keep the weight from her shot arm. They limped in through the back door and Lena took Kara to the floor level bathroom. She turned on the bath. “On the edge now…c’mon!” She struggled to keep the weight of Kara. She was mostly dead weight so fatigued and she was all muscle.

Kara collapsed onto the edge and struggled to stay balanced. Lena unzipped her suit from the back and helped her out of it. “Shame on me for making this so it can’t be cut,” Lena muttered and tossed it aside. From there she shifted Kara into the water. She winced and cursed.

“Damn it to hell!” She growled and slammed her hand against the tiled wall.

Lena grabbed a first-aid kit. “What happened to you? Why aren’t you at the DEO?”

“I didn’t have my earpiece and they destroyed my phone,” Kara muttered. She swallowed as she saw blood swirl into the water.

Lena handed her an activated cold pack. “Hold that to your eye for the swelling.” Kara obliged and looked at her with her good eye.

“I’m sorry…I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Lena grabbed a small kit of tools from the kit. “Now, explain.”

Kara shifted, elevating her bag leg on the edge. Lena saw now the skin. It was green around the wound, the veins making it look like shattered glass. “Do you know the element kryptonite?”

Lena swallowed. “A radioactive material from space.” She had a primitive knowledge. Lex said he was using it for research in a new power source. What did it have to do with the bullet wound on a girl who was supposed to be bulletproof?

“It’s from my home planet. It’s the only thing that can kill me here,” Kara said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know who but someone got me out of the sky and ambushed me. He shot me with it and that’s when they went to work on me.” She sucked in a breath. “They took my blood. I don’t know why they need it. Lena, why would they need my blood?”

“Shh…” Lena touched her shoulder. “Let’s not worry about that.” Her mind went to various possibilities. Cloning her, learning more about her, framing her for a crime possibly. The first two were the most likely and made her stomach churn. Very few people would want to do this.

“I just need you to take it out. I can heal if I can just get it the hell away from me.”

Lena grabbed a set of curved forceps. She paused. “Kara, this is really going to hurt.”

“I don’t care. Please,” she whispered. “Lena, please.”

Lena sucked in a breath and held Kara’s leg in place. She dug into the hole, maneuvering through the flesh and using sterile gauze to blot away the blood.

Kara saw stars in her blurred, teary vision. She tried not to slam her head back into the wall or kick into Lena. But _fuck_ did that hurt. She wished she had passed out. “Fuck, mother of Rao!” She grit her teeth and tried to stay steady for Lena. Lena had her brow creased and took the forceps out of her flesh. “Please tell me you got it.”

Lena held up a shard of green. Kara visibly relaxed and uncovered her eye. The swelling and color were changing. The topical wounds were almost gone. The main concern of the bullet wound had yet to close but luckily it wasn’t steadily bleeding anymore.

Kara shifted in the warm water. “How long does it take for you to heal up fully?” Lena asked.

“Anywhere from instantaneous to an hour.” Kara sank down into the water, the warmth swallowing her head briefly. She came up and pushed her hair back.

Lena cleaned up, storing the shard away in a vial of lead she had in her chemistry set after Kara explained that was how its properties could be blocked.

“I’ll take it to the DEO.” Kara frowned at the wall, staring off.

Lena seethed silently. Kara had gotten hurt. Her attempts to protect her had failed and now look at her. But who could do such a thing? The only sign of remorse was leaving her alive and even then they may have expected her to die of poisoning, frozen in pain wherever they left her.

Kara could barely shift her lower body. Pain registered in every shift of her injured leg. “Stop that. If it hurts, leave it be,” Lena scorned.

“But it’s supposed to be done by now!” Kara grunted and shifted. She was acting like a toddler in a sense, so easily irritable.

“Well it’s not! Stay still.” Kara pouted and sat in the tepid water.

“My underwear’s soaked now,” she muttered.

“Cry me a river.” Lena ran her fingers through Kara’s hair, frowning at her. She sat on the edge of the bath, hovering protectively over her partner. Kara leaned against Lena, wet hair immediately soaking Lena’s t-shirt. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.” She paused. “You’re going to be okay, right?”

“My DNA guarantees it, Lena.” Kara closed her eyes. “There’s so much to tell you.”

“Same here.” Lena kissed her forehead. “Let’s not worry about it.”

“But I—”

“Rest. Relax. Don’t strain yourself by worrying about the details.” Lena kissed her head. “I love you. God, Kara, I love you so much.”

Kara smiled at her. “What?” Lena whispered.

“Nothin’.”

“That’s your devilish look. What is it?”

Kara’s eyes shone, almost silver. She wrapped her fingers around Lena’s wrist.

In the next moment, Lena was in the large bath with Kara, clothes becoming soaked in seconds. “Kara! Jesus Christ!” Lena ran her fingers through her hair and glared. Kara was chuckling. “You’re such a fucking child, oh my god.” Lena sat up and reached for a towel.

They both paused when they heard footsteps around the first floor.

“Who’s that?” Kara whispered.

“Lena?” A man called out. Lena shimmied out of her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself.

“You’re going out like that?” Kara muttered. Lena glared and put a finger to her lips.

“Coming, Lex!” Lena stepped out of the bathroom, slipping out of a crack.

Kara nervously got out, taking off her soaked garments and grabbing a towel for herself. She looked through with her x-ray vision and listened in.

* * *

 

Lena let out a shaky breath as she stepped out, clutching the towel's knot to keep it on her. 

“I didn’t think you’d be in yet,” Lena said as she walked around her brother and leaving the room.

“Why were you using the first floor bathroom?” He called to her in the other room as she rummaged through the basket of clean laundry in the laundry room. 

“Oh, the bath in there is so much bigger than the one in my room!” Lena quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants and a hoodie. “It’s just a work at home day. I way about to get on a call with Maggie.”

“If you were bathing why are your contacts still in?”

She bit her lip and then called back quickly. “I was reading in the bath.”

“What book?” He wandered around the area between them. She fought showing any panic as he got a step closer to the bathroom door. 

“Price of Salt.”

“Again?”

“I mean it’s a classic piece of literature that goes largely unloved, how could I not read it over and over?”

“You just read it for the sex scene.” He smirked as she flared up red and slapped him.

“Alexander!”

He adjusted his tie. “I just came to check on you. But I need to go…well, you know. So, if you’ll excuse me.” He made his way to the door.  

“Not down here!” She grabbed his shoulder. He moved away from her touch and looked down at her. He arched a brow.

He stopped. “Lena, really what’s going on?” He twisted the knob and opened the door.

Lena relaxed when it was empty. “I just…it’s a mess see?” There was water all over the floor. She thanked god that Kara had cleaned up the bloody swabs and took the vial.

“Right.” He shut the door.

Lena relaxed and went up to her room. She saw Kara hovering outside her window. She opened it.

“You’re crazy,” she whispered harshly.

Kara held up a shard of hardware. “Take this. I feel you might know what it is before anyone at the DEO would.” She kissed her hard and then flew away.

Lena looked down at the shard. She had worked with the equipment before. It was for a security device Luthorcorp.

She tucked it into her desk and went back downstairs. Lex was back out and looking around the house.

“How has your day been?” she asked him. He looked at her. He adjusted his tie.

“I was just testing some prototypes, collecting some samples so I can work on that pesticide project mom suggested.”

“I recall…a physician caring about bugs.”

She frowned to herself as he turned on the news for them.

_“He’ll kill someone one day”_

_Dad, why did you have to be serious?_


End file.
